He terminado con mi entrenamiento con Elder Morgan

Hello everyone. Such great people you all are. This week coming up is a big week and I don't know what is going to happen but I do know the Elder Morgan and I will not be companions anymore. My training is done and I will receive a new companion Wednesday. Yea. That's the life. On to the good stuff.

This week it rained A LOT. There were thunder storms and lightning everywhere. It was pretty cool. We were just walking the streets of Caaguazuu and it was like seeing a light show in the sky there was so much thunder and lightning. While it was pretty cool, we went from having 75 people in church the last week to only 25 this week. There were not any investigators either. It is weird. We work all week to teach and help people come to church and then the sky decides to change everything and no one comes to church. But there is a bright side to this. We have another Sunday!!! Woooohooooooo! Hopefully this Sunday the skies are normal. It is all worth it.

A miracle happened on Saturday too. Two people got married and baptized the same day!!! They are named the Familia Fariña. They almost didn't make it because it was raining so hard but they made it. They were 2 of the 25 people in church on Sunday. That's what I call dedication!

I talked early about how my training is over. I start my 3rd change Wednesday. I have been thinking a lot about the people and what they have done. They deceive or mislead us, they reject us, they say otra dia which means another day which by extension means no and they think I'm a spy but with all that happening I still love them a lot. I want them to be happy. That's why I'm here. I left everything. My family, my friends, school, a job, girls, and a lot of other stuff and I am here. I love it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love these people and I love serving them. It is really hard but it is worth it. We do a lot of things wrong in the eyes of God but he still loves us and forgives us, so the least I can do is love these people like My God loves me. It turns out when you loose yourself in the work and forget everything else, you find yourself. Now that doesn't make much sense. How can you loose yourself and find yourself at the same time. I tell you what...its happening to me. I'm finding myself. It's awesome.

I love you all. Keep it classy. BE safe. And remember that you are loved.

Elder Jessop

My life as I know it.‏

Hello everyone, 

There has been a lot of thunder and lightning here the past 2 days. Every Sunday it rains. The whole week it is burning hot and Sunday and Monday it rains and thunders. A lightning bolt hit a tree and the ground right outside of my house. That is not something I see everyday in California that's for sure. I sent pictures. I hope you guys like them. The Assistentes to the President came to do Divisions in my Zone. That was pretty cool and also we had a open house in the chapel. Basically it is what we have outside of the temple like at the visiting center, but we are in South America so there are not as many. We have portable ones that we use. 

Life is good. I have to leave, but I want you all to know that I love you and I am very happy for your support. 

I have a special message for my sisters Hannah and Amanda: Hi sisters! I love you both. You have recently started school again and you're still working, but I love you both and keep working hard and you guys are awesome. Try to get along and keep going to church! :D

Much Love 

Elder Jessop

The day that changed my life‏

Hi everyone. I'm doing great. Yesterday it hailed in the streets of Paraguay and it rained really hard. My umbrella broke (mom I bought a new umbrella here in Paraguay and it broke yesterday, that should answer your question). I want to tell you about my week, which includes the studies that changed my mission.

We taught someone named Maria this week who was a reference from members. She lives with these same members and she is literally oro (gold). She told these members that she wanted to come to church yesterday before we even knew here. Uh sí o sí ella va a bautizar. She is awesome and we are going to teach her everything with the members that she lives with. We are teaching a lot. We taught 25 lessons this last week and that is a blessing from the Lord. 

Something the I'm learning a lot is that the weeks are like days and they days are like weeks. Really the days are normal days and the weeks are normal too, but it feels so different. OK my schedule in the morning is we eat and exercise and until 8. We study from 8 to 12 everyday. In personal study I read the Book of Mormon and I finished it. I read the last chapter in Moroni 10 and I thought a lot and I prayed. In this chapter there is a promise that says if you read the book, think about it, and then pray about it, we will know that the book is true through the power of the Holy Ghost. That is exactly what I did. I testify to everyone who is reading this, that if you would just ready the book of Mormon and get on your knees and ask God if it is true, you can receive a confirmation the it is true like I have many times and like millions of other people have too. This book has changed my life. That was just personal study. In companionship study I read Ether 12:27. This scripture changed my life. I couldn't understand how we can do everything possible to do good and follow Christ and not actually do it. It is either we do it or we don't. There is no do everything possible. To try is not to do it is to try. It turns out that we cant do it. It is impossible to live with God again by ourselves. That is why we have Jesus Christ. With him we can do anything. All we can do is try and do everything we can and then Jesus Christ does the rest. To try is to do. So try and do everything you can and when you think you cant do it, you can, Jesus Christ will help you because he has done it.

I love you all. I am changing I am different. I am better. I am becoming more like Christ every day. That is the meta. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true.

Elder Jessop

La gracia de Dios es suficiente‏

Hi everyone. We recently bought all of our food. I'm in an Internet cafe with a lot of food writing you guys. I've already eaten some bread. I'm always eating here. I'm always hungry, but esta bien. It is raining a lot outside. For two days it was really hot, I was sweating bullets and last night at like 2 in the morning it started to thunder and there was lightening and it was raining and now there are rivers in Paraguay. It's supposed to be the only country without rivers and an ocean, but as of now we have found the ocean. Anyways I want to tell you all about the week. 

We are teaching a lot of people. Like more than 25 lessons in a week. That's a lot. We have to walk to every house which takes a long time, and some of them don't have telephones so if they're not home then we walk somewhere else. We have 4 hours of studies every day except for Monday and Thursday. 1 hour of personal study, 1 hour of language study, and 2 hours of companionship study. It's a lot of studying, but I'm learning a lot so tranquilopa. These are a few of the people that we are teaching.

Catalino: This man is older and works at a shop for cars and he fixes them. He smokes and he used to drink a lot but he wants to stop. The gospel can help him stop that's for sure. He can't walk very far so it is impossible for him to walk to the church. We think he may have cancer in his mouth from smoking and drinking. We had a miracle with him. One of the members is going to drive him to church every Sunday so he can get baptized and we are going to teach Catalino in the house of Hermano Caballero every time so he doesn't have to be with his firends that he works with that smoke and drink. He's awesome and we are going to help him change his life to the better.

Jerge y Sarah: They are a married couple, which is a surprise because a lot of people here are not married and they live together. That is a desafio. They are awesome though, they are Catholic but they know that the Catholic church isn't completely true and they are looking for something more. Boom here come the missionaries, we taught them about the book of Mormon and they are reading it and praying. They feel good and need more time but they are really awesome and yea. They are going to get baptized.

Fermina, Giovani, and Madi Gonzales: They are a family of brothers and sisters. Jimmy is the only member in the family and has been a member for 7 months. We watched a movie with them. It's hard to teach all of them at the same time, but this movie was with Madi and Fermine. We watched finding faith in Christ and it literally changed my life. The power of a testimony is so strong and invites the spirit like nothing else. That is what Jimmy did, he shared his testimony with his brothers and sisters and they could feel that this was right. They need to go to church, but we are helping them a lot. They are awesome too.

Something I learned this week that change my life was about the Grace of Jesus Christ. This week I felt like God was not satisfied with my work as a missionary and that I need to do better. Always there is something we need to change in our lives so we can be better, and I was really discouraged. I felt like I could never be like Jesus Christ. I am wrong. We can't give up. We have a life to live and when we live it the way that Jesus Christ taught. We will always be happy. The Grace of God is sufficient. It is his son, Jesus Christ, that will help us in the end become like him. Never give up, never stop trying, yes it is hard, but it was not easy for our Savior, Jesus Christ. His grace is what keeps us going. I know that the Lord is satisfied with me because I'm doing all I can to help these people accept God, and his son. 

I love you all.

Elder Jessop

Rain Rain Rain‏

Hi everyone. I have pictures this week, but I hope the computer works or I wont be able to send them haha. It rained a lot this week. It was really hot at the beginning of the week and rainy and wet at the end.

This week I learned:

Try not to step in giant holes of mud in the rain. I stepped in mud and my shoe came off. And then to top it off I stepped in the mud again with only my sock. I couldn't keep my balance. That was fun and a lot of the Spanish speaking people laughed at me. It was raining, it was cold, I was wet, and it was really funny. My companion laughed more than everyone else. I just put the shoe back on and kept walking. That's the life right there, that's life. 

I also learned of the power of testimony. We taught a guy named Carlos Molina and he said to us that he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. This is awesome because a lot of people don't want too. We came back later and he told us that he didn't feel anything. He told us that we only need the bible, that we don't need to go to church because people have the church inside our hearts, and he basically told us that we were wrong. This hurt for sure. Nice little prick on my heart. I testified, in Spanish I might add, that he didn't do his part to know that the Book of Mormon is true. It turns out that he read one page of the Book and prayed one time after and didn't do it any more. I told him that I knew the book was true and that I knew this church is true and that there is no other church in the world that is of Jesus Christ and has all the truth. He didn't say anything and we left. This experience helped me learn of the importance of a testimony. I have a testimony, and because I have a testimony I should do all I can to share it with every person I see. It is our obligation to share the gospel with others. That's what I'm doing and I'm happy and have a lot of peace in my heart with the knowledge of these things. Share your testimony.

Also something awesome, it is my moms birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well was my moms birthday. Sorry mom hahaha. I love my mom. Her name is Rebecca Jessop and she is awesome. Everyone who sees this I hope you say happy birthday to my mom. I'm not going to tell you how old she is, but she is around 35 or so. You can ask her yourself. Love you mom. I hope you had a great birthday. 

Peace out

Elder Jessop

                               This is a lomito aribe they are really good

                               This is a breakfast I made in 15 minutes

                                This is one of our areas‏

                                This photo is the jungle area

•                                 

•                                 This is my zone leader 

                               The box my parents sent me

                                The stuff that was in the box

‏

The Vida‏

Hey everybody. You all know what today is. Good ol Monday. It is 12:17 in the afternoon in Caaguazu. Nice and hot. Anyways I hope you are all fantastic. I'm doing quite well. I still cant speak in Guarani but that is OK. My Spanish is a lot better, I want to tell you what kind of things have been going on in my life as a missionary.

Isabelino: This guy wants to be baptized right after we talked with him. The first thing he said to us was, "I need to be baptized right away, can you guys baptize me"? We said Claro y te shera. There is only one problem. He is in town 3 days every 40 days. 40 days!!!!! He leaves town to work every 40 days at a time. We gave him a baptismal date for the 14th of September and he said yes, but he won't even be here on that date. He is awesome though and one day we will baptize him. 

La familia Gonzales: This family is a part member family. Jimmy is a recent convert and Madi and Giovanni are his brothers. Madi went to church this past Sunday and Giovanni needs a lot of encouragement. He doesn't understand how we can know for a fact that these things are true. That the Book of Mormon is true and that there is a God. It is really simple. Read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and come to church. He doesn't do these things, maybe because he is lazy. We are going to give him encouragement though. We have a ward activity this Wednesday and he is going to go with his family. That is pretty awesome indeed. 

I don't have a lot of time, but I love you all. You are all just wonderful, I am doing a lot. I can speak Spanish. My head hurts because of it, but I am doing pretty good at it. As a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Something I learned this week that helped me a lot. I am not here for me or my own glory. I can baptized 100 people, but this is not because of me. All of the glory all of the things I do is for God. I learned this from my Zone Leader and lucky for me, I live with him. The glory is not mine. Like Jesus Christ. He didn't come down here and suffer for his glory. It was for the glory of his father. It is the same for me. I am here teaching these people and inviting them to be baptized because it is the glory of my father in heaven

Love you all. Have a great week.

Chow Chow

Elder Jessop 

The Mission‏

Hola personas. Hi people, how are you? Today a group of kids in a bus yelled at two missionaries and said hello, It was very funny. And a lot of people know my name that I have never even seen before. They just yell Elder and nothing else. I don't know if they are talking to me or if they are talking to Elder Morgan it really confuses us. Another thing that is really chistoso (funny) is that when people yell Mormones at us we just yell back at them Catholicos!! And then we teach them the gospel and one day they will be Mormon too when they accept the truth into their lives. Yea those are funny things that happen to us. 

This week we taught a part member family se llama La Familia Britos. She wants to be baptized, but she wants to wait until her son turns 8 so they can be baptized together. She needs to be baptized like yesterday so she can be an example for her 8 year old son. They also need to get married too. That is a small impediment, but they are going to get married. They already told us haha. We will keep teaching them and they are tan buenos.

We also taught a lesson to a different part member family but this time the daughter, Paola is a member, and the mom is Catholico. She went to our church for three years and didn't get baptized. 3 YEARS!!!!!! That is a long time to go to church and not be baptized. We are going to baptize her too. She said she will read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and we are going to keep teaching her with her daughter. She is great. We are going to eat lunch with them next Sunday.

I went on divisions twice this week. My companion is the district leader so I go on divisions a lot. This time though I stayed in my area and Elder Morgan went to a different area, so I actually had to know where to go. And by the way there are no street names here, this is how we get directions. We ask where do you live? They say, I live two blocks straight three blocks to the right and a half block to the left in a blue house. That seems easy right? It's not. Especially in Spanish. Sometimes we never find the house. Sometimes they lie to us too, which isn't very nice but that's life. Anyways I went on divisions this week with one of the Zone Leaders which was podete y te and I went on divisions with Elder Guzman, who is a missionary that has the same amount of time here as me. Yes we went out and we barely know Spanish and we taught people, it was awesome and really helped us a lot to learn.
 

Anyways I love you guys- There is something I learned that was really profound this week. Friday I went on divisiones with Elder Guzman. It was pouring rain, there was mud everywhere, It was cold. My body was wet. We walked probably six miles in the rain at least and it was something that really helped me realize why I am here. I thought to myself at 8:30 at night and I told Elder Guzman in the rain. And I quote myself: "I don't know how anyone could be on a mission if they didn't want to be here. It is pouring rain, I am cold, I am wet, I am hungry, I am tired, It is dark, It is really dangerous, and I love it. I don't have to be here, but I am here, and I want to be here, otherwise I am wasting my time. I want to be here. I love it." (End Quote) This is the hardest thing I have every done in my life. Hands down no question. At the same time it is the best thing I have done in my life. God has blessed me with so much and I am here to serve him. To give my heart to the Lord so he can mold me into someone worthy of his presence. I love spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have so much to learn and I have only just begun. I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I am a Mormon. I Love it. I have never been so happy in my life. I know this church is true and that is why I am here. To spread my happiness to everyone I meet.

Thank you all for the emails and the prayers. I can feel your love and support in my life as I serve and give myself to this work. I hope you all are well and enjoy my letters. More will come. Every Monday. Have a great week.

Elder Jessop

Reunion de Entrenamientos

Hey everyone this is Elder Jessop speaking from your friendly neighborhood of Paraguay Asuncion. I am actually in a city called Caauguazuu, but that is OK. I bought a Caaguazuu sticker that says yo amo Caauguazzu. It is purete sheda. Guarani is an awesome language. 

Anyways I love you all and I finally sent pictures to my dad so you guys can see my place. Well it is not my place but ya know. Anyways this week every companionship that is training a missionary a.k.a. me. I went to Asuncion this week for a training meeting to help us learn more about how to train. My English is terrible sorry.

This meeting was great, we got to see my mission president and he talked to us a lot. We had the most baptisms in the month of June than all of South America south missions. Which includes every mission in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Paraguay Asuncion is baptizing a fool. I know I will get to baptize someone one day but I am being patient. We have investigators but they don't like to go to church. Especially when it is cold. They are always working or just doing something else. I hope you guys enjoy the letter and pictures. I don't have a lot of time because I sent pictures but that is OK.

Something else cool that happened this week is the assistentes to the president came to my area and did divisions with the other trainers in the area. There are 3 in Caguazuu. I have a trainer and 2 other missionaries are being trained in Caaguazuu.  The other two had divisions with the assistentes. They lived in my house. I live with the zone leaders too. I live with a lot of leaders. My trainer is also the district leader. I sent a picture of the 6 of us. Anyways got to go. Love simo. I love it here. God lives and again sorry for my terrible English.

Much Love

Elder Jessop

                                                       Me with the District Leader

                                                        Me

                                                       Housemates/missionaries

                                                       My Closet

                                                       My Desk

                                                       My Bed

                                                       Area around our house

                                                       Our Kitchen

Zone Conference‏

This week went by really fast.... I'm always eating. We walk like 9 miles a day sometimes and I get back  in the house and hit the fridge. Anyways...... Hi everyone, I am doing great. Not sick, working hard, learning a lot. My testimony of Jesus Christ is growing more and more everyday.

This last week we had what is called a zone conference. There are 13 zones in this mission of Paraguay Asuncion. I am in zone 13. The zone farthest away from the city of Asuncion. This zone is called Caaguazzu. My area is 32 miles, its HUGE. I can walk for hours into the jungle and still be in my zone. 

Anyways zone conference: This zone conference was in another area called coronel viedo. Zone 12 and 13 were at this zone conference. The mission president was there and his assistant's too. We learned a lot about many things. We did a lot of role playing, basically practices on how to talk to people. Our method is talk to everyone. The Lord has prepared these people the receive the gospel, so we need to talk to everyone to find out who is ready for it. The mission presidents wife showed use, only the Elders really, how to clean a stove. It was fun. We did other stuff too, like inviting people to be baptized on the street. That was really fun. We have tried it and people have said yes, on the street. We are going to teach them and put our faith in God that these people will accept.

What else do I want to tell you guys: I need to start making a list haha. One week is kinda like a blur. Oh yea I remember. The bishop or president of my ward branch is from South Africa. He speaks English and his Spanish is different. Kinda like mine. We were at his house the other day, we ate dinner with his family and he talks a lot about his time in Paraguay. He came here and knew 0 Spanish. The only words he knew were the words, no hablo español. Haha that is kinda like me, but not anymore right. 

I love it here: It is really hard.... We have breakfast and exercise and shower from 6:30AM to 8:00AM We have studies from 8:00AM to 12:00PM. We eat lunch at a members house or at our house and we cook. Mom I'm cooking!! Crazy I know. And then from 1:00PM to 9:00PM we are out preaching the gospel and inviting people to come unto Christ!! That is the best part. We don't eat dinner. We come home at 9:00PM and plan for 30 minutes. We have an hour to eat and relax before bed at 10:30PM. Usually we are still working up till 10, calling people or updating our area book. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it, yes. We all of my heart and soul it is worth it. I know this church is true. If any of you are reading this and have questions about this church. Go ask the missionaries. They have a lot of the answers. Pero yo se que la iglesia de JesuCristo de Los Santos De Los Ultimas Dias es verdadera. Con todo de mi corazon. 

I love you all and I hope you guys enjoy my letter things.

One more thing they speak Guarani and Spanish here. Everyone. They have like a secret language, but I am learning guarani too. It is an awesome language. Yea, I will be fluente in Guarani too. Just you wait!

Elder Jessop

Paraguay and Rain and Cold‏

!Hola¡ This is your friendly neighborhood missionary reporting for duty. No it is actually just a missionary in Paraguay serving the Lord, but I am pretty friendly. According to my high school yearbook, I am the most friendly guy in my grade. What what. Anyways that doesn't matter. This is Elder Jessop. I'm in a tienda right now as I write called tigo which is like a mini Internet cafe. It is pretty cool.

It rained for the first time since we have been here on Wednesday. Like serious rain. And my umbrella broke, but that is OK! I had a nice warm jacket to wear which was nice. The umbrella of my companion broke too. Kinda odd. It has been freezing here the last couple days. Like really cold. OK not freezing like Utah or Rexburg, but cold. It is really fun though. People think we are crazy because we are out in the rain preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but people are always nice to us.

I am loving it. Tomorrow I will have been away from my house in California for 2 months. That is a pretty long time if you think about it hard.

We have a lot of studying to do and I am really learning a lot. My Spanish has gotten pretty good. A lot of people are surprised that two white guys from north America can speak Spanish. My companion is fluente so it is nice to have a companion that is fluente, but I am learning a lot.

 

OK I have 3 minutes left.

 

I love you all. I want you all to know that. I appreciate your emails and your love. I love it here. It is beautiful. Un poco peligrosso pero muy bonito. The people here are really nice usually and like talking to us.

 

WE have witnessed several miracles here and we have a lot of progressing investigators that want to be baptized in a couple weeks. I will tell you guys more about that next week. My grammar in English is terrible because all I speak now is Spanish.

 

Elder Jessop