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

​

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!

​

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

11/10/14 - My Search for Light

Hey everyone!! This week was very awesome and very rewarding. My whole mission had been a blessing and the most meaningfull experience up to this time in my life. I have tried really hard to do my best and humble myself so that the Lord can use me in his work according to his will. I am not perfect, but the Atonement of Christ and his saving grace has helped me a lot in my earthly life to complete with my process of perfection. JEsus is the Christ. HE lives. That is one of the greatest truths that I know. Now on with the week :D:

Tuesday: I had a division with an Elder named Elder Riboldi, he is super awesome and I learned the importance and the esiness of just getting to know people. He said that in one of his old areas, they put goals to talk with 25 people or more in the street everyday. They said that in one month, they had talked to almost over 700 people. TO me, that is incredible. A lot of time we are afraid to talk to people because we dont know them or we are afraid what they will think of us, but when we see them as our brothers and sisters, which they are, it is a lot easier to talk to them and testify of the truths of the gospel so that they can recieve the gifts and blessing of God that are waiting for them. The division was very uplifting.

Wednesday: I dont remember what happened because I didnt write it down.... Sorry haha. 

Thursday: We had a Capacitación de Zona. That is when the zone gets together and the Zone Leaders give a presentation according to what we learned from the mission president in the Mission Leader Meeting. We watched the general conferance talk by Elder Robbins, when he taught us about which way we face. We cant lower the standards of the Lord to be content with our own disobidience or unwillingness to follow the Lord. We must raise our standards so that they are also the Lords standards. It was an excellent Zone meeting. I learned the importance of repitition and how that helps us be perfect. We go to church every week so that I can be perfect one day, I read the scriptures everyday so that I can be perfected and cleaned, I pray daily and often to strengthen my relationship with the Lrod so that he can change me according to his will, regular temple attendance helps me raise my spirituality and helps me become more in tune with God and his desires. I am trying hard to do that. It is posible to be perfect, it just takes a lot of work, a lot of repition and a lot of perseverance. Through the Atonement I can do it and so can you!!

My Zone

Friday: I had another division with Elder Cisneros. We learned about the importance of sharing the gospel with EVERYONE that we can. The importance of inviting everyone to repent and be baptized. It is the primordial interest of the church, the salvation of souls!! 3 people accepted a baptism date and we are super excited to keep sharing the gospel with all who will hear.

Saturday: We hit a lot of doors. A lot of people didnt recieve us and the appointments that we had all fell because people were not home. IT was an awesome day though. I read in my studies that day of the importance of the Atonement of Christ and how that will strenghten my desires to share the gospel with others!! My desire to share the gospel is high and I am extremely grateful that I can share it in order to help others recieve it and so that I can become more converted and that my testimony can keep growing.

Sunday: 4 people came to church!!! One named Hma. Miñaro, the other Hugo, another Micaela, and the last Julieta. Thay are all aweomse and are progressing a lot. I learend this day the importance of having a strong testimony that is based in the Lord Jesus Christ. Something that I annoted from General Conference is that every leader of the church ends thier talk with a testimony of Jesus Christ. That he lives and that he loves us. I have that testimony, but I know that my testmony can strenghten until the day that I can see him face to face and have that testimony become perfect. I love my Savior and I hope to be like him one day.

I love the mission. Words do not described the feelings that I feel. The love that I feel for all of these people. I am trying to develop a perfect love, a charity for all the people that are here. I know that the church is true. I know that God lives and restored his church the the Earth when he called Joseph Smith to be a prophet. I know that the spirit guides us to choose the right once we decide to do our part. The Lord will never force us to do anything against our will. My will must be his will. My thoughts must be his thoughts, my love must be his love, my acts must be his. I must one day be like him and I am grateful for the Atonement that helps me in every step I take towards his presence. I invite everyone to apply the scripture in the Book of Mormon in Ether 12:41. It has blessed me tremendously.

I love you. Thankyou for the prayers and support.

Elder Jessop

11-3-14 November!

Hey everyone!!! I am in the cyber and I am having an emotional shock because my mission has flashed before my eyes. It has been a wild ride and a very enriching experience that I will never forget and I have loved every second. This week was very fulfilling. I did 3 divisions, there was a baptism, we had our district activity, mission leader meeting, and church was awesome.

Luz Maria: There is a family in our area that we are trying to reactivate that hasn't been to church for over a year. They went to church on Sunday and their daughter got baptized on Saturday. I had the privilege to baptize her and it was a lovely experience. It is the Centron Family, we are trying really hard to help them with their family prayer and scripture study and help them develop that habit as a family so that they can take bigger steps and make church attendance a habit and have a temple marriage as one of their goals. 

We also had our district activity. It was Hermana Boley´s birthday (the blond with straight hair) and we celebrated playing soccer, ultimate frisbee and eating cake as a district. It was very fun and a good stress reliever for us as missionaries. 

I did 3 divisions this week to. One with our district leader, Elder MacDonald from Washington. Every thinks that he owns the McDonalds here in Paraguay. I also had one with the assistant, Elder Oscco, from good ol´Provo Utah, and then I had one with an Elder named, Elder Ward, from Idaho. HE ate three potatoes on the division haha.  The divisions are a good way to edify and encourage missionaries. I have done over 60 divisions in my mission with a ton of Elders here in this mission and I have learned a ton from every one of them. 

I love the mission. Words cant describe it. Every day I feel happier and happier. I have felt complete joy that I know can be even more fuller haha. I love this feeling of peace and I am afraid of losing it. I don't have a lot of time left and I am loving every second. The days are like minutes and the weeks days and the months are like weeks and before you know it, it´s done. In our mission leader meeting today with President Aggazani I learned the importance of giving everything you got and being consistent, diligent, and obedient in doing so. I love missionary work and it is not only something that missionaries can do, but also every member of the church. 

Happy Birthday to my Grandpa Jessop, my dad, and my best friend Cody turns 21. All three of them this Saturday. Hope that you all have a great birthday. Thinking of you Cody. You are turning 21 bro!! That is crazy. 

Love you all have a great week and thank you very much for your prayers and support.

Elder Jessop

10-27-14 - I Cant Think of a Creative Title for this E-mail

Well Hello my family and great friends! I hope that all is well. I just got a haircut and I feel like the Fresh Missionary of Paraguay. A lot of people see my companion and I here in Paraguay and they look at us very weirdly because we are both kinda tall, BLONDE, BLUE EYES, WHITE and dress in missionary attire. It is super fun to talk to them and invite them to get baptized and have a better life. I feel a ton of joy and peace when I do it with love and when the Holy Spirit is with me. 

The first thing that happened this week is that it is Watermelon season here in Paraguay and it turns out they love Watermelon just like I do!!! Something super cool happened. Here in Paraguay there are people that go house to house selling stuff, the thing is we are almost never home so we never have the opportunity to buy anything from everyone that comes to our house, but then there was Thursday. At about 12:30 in the afternoon (we had Weekly Planning) is when I heard the words leave from the mouth of a man with a microphone, a house, and a carriage full of watermelons say, "Sandia Sandia!! a 5 mil!". I sat for a second, looked to see if I had 5 mil guaranies, ran outside and bought a watermelon. It was a great day and that was my dinner a couple days later. So that's all for the watermelon story.

This week was very awesome!! We had interviews with our mission president this last Friday. The interview was very great and I learned the importance of sharing the gospel with everyone that I can so that they can get baptized and accept the restored gospel. Then on Sunday we had 5 investigators in church. I need to talk more often about our investigators haha. Here is one:

1. Luz Marina and Hugo: This is a mom and a son that we met contacting in the street and they have just moved in the area 8 months ago. They are very religious and are really interested in coming to church because they have been to a lot of churches but haven't found the peace they look for. I am grateful that the Lord led us to their house. The first thing we shared with them was the Restauración and the Book of Mormon. They love the Book of Mormon and went to church on Sunday. We are helping them to progress and they should be getting baptized 

2. Hermana Miñaro: She loves the Book of Mormon!! She reads it everyday and we are trying to help her get baptized, she just needs a little more support from the ward and from her family. She went to church on Sunday too.

3. Familia Centron: This is a family of members that we are trying to reactivate. They have some problems in their marriage and the gospel will bless them with everything that they need. They just need to augment their faith and go to church. They are an awesome family and we are working hard with them.

We have other investigators, but I am running out of time haha.

I have learned so much here in the mission and I'm so grateful to be here and learn, grow, and help others. I have learned the importance of service. Serving others so that I can serve my Lord. I am doing one of the biggest service projects of my life right now in being a missionary. I love it here and I love my God. I know that he lives and I know that he has established his church on the earth again. 

Love you all!!Have a great week.

Elder Jessop

10-20-14 The Weeks Go By Faster. Faster... and Even Faster...‏

I'm here.....Elder Jessop, sitting here at my computer screen and I have no clue what I did this week. Have you ever had just one of those weeks where you don't have a clue what happened. That happened this week. It was an awesome week because I feel super happy, but I don't remember a lot of it. Good thing that there are journals. I have been writing it in my journal so I will always remember it.

I wrote my title for this week about the weeks going by super fast. It is almost November and I'm not going to lie, sometimes I have freak outs because the time is going by so fast hahaha. I cant explain the fun I have and the joy I feel by being here in the mission, but it is going by fast. They say the the mission is the MTC (man training center) for life. I think I need another year or 2 to prepare me for my life, but I am very grateful for the mission. I'm grateful that I'm here and I am grateful for all the things I have learned, people I have meet, friends that will not only be earthly friends, but eternal friends as well. 

I love my God, I know that he lives and I know that he loves each and every one of us. I know that he answers prayers and that he does it in his own time so that we can learn, grow and progress in this earthly life. I know that Jesus is the Christ. That he is the savior of mankind. He gave his life for you and me. I know that through him our sins can be forgiven. If there is one thing I have learned here in Paraguay, it is the knowledge and certainty that Jesus Christ is my Savior and no one can return to the Father except through him. I strive daily to be more like him. It is kinda funny, today in my personal study I read in 2nd Nephi chapter 4. Nephi was a prophet in the Americas in the Book of Mormon and in this chapter he is saddened by the weaknesses of his own body. How the desires of his natural man makes him want to stray from the way of God, but his heart wants to do Gods will and his body wont let him. It is interesting. It says in the scriptures that we are less than the dirt and soil because even they obey, when Gods greatest creation, mankind, refuses to obey him. I am trying hard to obey my God, even though I cant do it the way I want too like Nephi. I'm very grateful for Jesus Christ who will lift me and help me every time I fall. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the church of God. I am certain. My testimony of these things is something that I have gained for myself and therefore, I know that it is true. 

I'm happy, I'm doing great, I'm learning, I'm healthy, I'm having fun with Elder Hampton, I'm meeting tons of people, and I'm living the best two years of my life.

Elder Jessop

10-13-14 I'm Staying in San Lorenzo with Elder Hampton‏!!

Hi everyone!!! I have some great news! I'm staying in San Lorenzo with my companion Elder Hampton. I thought I was going to go, but I was wrong. I'm super excited and happy that I stayed. My week was super great too. It went by super fast, like all of the other weeks.... haha. My days are like a basketball game. You start it with the opening tip off and before you know it the game is over. Sometimes there are super long games when nothing goes right, but you win anyway and some times you just go Kobe and score 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. If that made sense, those are how my days are..... haha. At the end of the day, I sit down and sometimes I can't even remember what happened. If it wasn't for agendas I would forget everything. Now to tell you all about my week!

District Meeting: Like I said I thought that I was going to leave so I said goodbye to the district, but it turns out that that was unnecessary because I stayed. There is a sister that goes home with me in May and when we left she yelled, "See you in the airport!!" It turns out that I saw her that next Sunday.... haha. I sent a picture of the district.

Friday: We met two Paraguayans that are musicians. They live in the United States, but are in Paraguay for right now. There band is called The Vera's Brothers, and supposedly it is a popular band in the states. They live in Florida and they talked to us in English. Elder Hampton and I talk in Spanish all day so it was a little weird talking in English. They were pretty awesome and we are going to help them find true happiness and learn about the gospel!!

Saturday: We had a baptism on Saturday of Deisy Vera. One of the members of the ward, Daniel Gamarra, baptized her. He has helped us a ton visiting her and her family. Next on the list that are going to get baptized is her mom and her little sister. The way we found this family was a miracle. The grandma (girl with white hair in the picture), had lost contact with the church for two years and we were teaching her neighbors when Deisy called us over and we taught them and now we got to where we are now. Deisy baptized and her family learning about the gospel. It is amazing how God works. The baptism was really spacial, it was scary because it was the first time that Brother Gamarra had baptized someone. He is a convert in the church and was baptized this year in February. Deisy's mom came to church yesterday for the first time and she loved it so we hope to see a lot of progress with her to. Deisy's little sister turns 8 in December and will be baptized then :D.

Sunday: Church was awesome! It might have been the first time that we actually got to church early. It was nice to sit, relax, and feel the spirit. The classes were awesome and we learned about the responsibilities of being a parent (for my future self ;)) haha. I also learned about the importance of trials and hardships in our life so that we can learn, grow, and progress spiritually. I have had a bit of trials here in the mission, but what we learn from the example of Joseph Smith, our trials will be but a small moment and if we suffer them well they will be four our benefit. Later that evening, we had dinner with the Armoa family. We went over there and cooked cordon bleu and mashed potatoes, I felt super American! I crushed the crackers using their cracker crushing thing. Not sure what the name is but it was fun. I felt like we were in the Flintstones or something like that. Every Sunday night my companion and I have to do numbers and report them to the assistants. We finished at 10:20 and then crashed the bed. It was awesome. 

I started reading the Book of Mormon again. I have been reading a lot in Doctrine and Covenants, but I felt that after the conference I had to re-read the Book of Mormon. I have felt the spirit really strong of late and my testimony has grown more and more with a knowledge of the truthfulness of that book. If you don't know what the Book of Mormon is, READ IT. It will bless your life, I promise.

I have learned a ton about the importance of listening and accepting other peoples advice and opinions. My mom told me that sometimes I was a know-it-all- .....I feel like a lot of teenage kids think that they are, but I have leaned here in Paraguay the importance of listening to advice, accepting the error that I may be committing and changing so that I can be more Christlike. Something that after all these years, the influence of my mom had taught me. Don't be a know-it-all. haha. I have learned how to use the Atonement in my life to change the bad things about me and making them strengths. The scripture in the Book of Mormon, Ether 12:27 has helped me a lot to recognize my weaknesses and let Jesus Christ turn them into strengths. 

I know that this church is true. I can feel it in my inner being and I know that the feeling comes from the spirit. In the Bible it states, for your fruits, ye shall know them (I know the scripture better in Spanish, but I think that is it.). My fruits, I feel like are showing. As I live the principles of the Gospel I willingly come unto Christ and chose to try to be more like him. He invites us all to come unto him. I'm privileged to be here, helping others come unto Christ and learning about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm happy and I am filled with joy. Thank you for the support and love. May God bless you all.

Elder Jessop

10-6-14 General Conference Weekend

Hello Family and Friends!

This last weekend was that of General Conference. General Conference is when semi annually, we listen to the words and council of the prophets, apostles, and other leaders of the church. General Conference is absolutely awesome and is something that can help the life of any human being that exists. If you have any questions about what is General Conference, I invite you to go on LDS.org and look. I can't look for you because I don't know how... Haha being in Paraguay has sure dropped my technology wisdom.

Life is going awesome. I'm happy, at peace, joyful, I feel loving, I'm trying to be kind :D, and I love sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. I can start this letter with some thoughts about what happened this week:

I really can't stop thinking about General Conference. My favorite talk was that of Elder Richard G.Scott. He talked about 4 key things that we can do to have more peace and guidance in our lives. He talked about daily personal and family prayer, daily personal and family scripture study, weekly family home evening (a night when the family gets together and has fun) and regular temple attendance. I thought the talk was awesome and I really loved it and it filled the innards of my soul like many other talks that were shared. He also said that individuals and families who do those 4 things are willingly coming unto Christ, that was awesome. There were also 4 talks that were given in a different language. 2 in Spanish which I could understand, 1 in Portuguese (understood that one too), and one was also given in Cantonese (lost me on that one) haha. It is truly a blessing to learn another language. I have learned Spanish and I'm trying to learn Portuguese now that I have time. I bought a Portuguese Book of Mormon and I'm reading it. 

I took and sent some pictures. I bought a watermelon.... and ate... I really love watermelon. It isn't like Grandmas water melon, but it was got nonetheless.
I love my mom and dad, I have learned so much from them. I learned in conference the importance of decision making and how the decisions that I make will affect me the rest of my life. I want to thank my parents for helping, and supporting the decisions that I have made in my life. So far the best decisions that I have made, and many would agree with me, is that of coming here to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love my Lord. I get to know him better and better daily. He lives and he will come again. It will be a great and terrible day. I look forward to being on his side.

Thank you for all the support. I love each and every one of you. Keep the letters coming. I appreciate them.!!! Have great weeks!!

Con cariño
Elder Jessop

9-29-14 Missionary Work in Paraguay‏

Hey everyone. Today my computer is a little faster and I'm able to write you all a better email. This week was awesome. Had its ups and downs, miracles and heartbreaks, but I learned a ton and I know that the Lords hands are in this work. 

Martes: We have some investigators that are really really close to being baptized. Deisy, Jose, Luz Maria, to name a few. Tuesday we had our district meetings and we were kind of stuck with what to do to help these people. We decided to fast as a district and that same night we went to Deisy's house. She is an investigador that is the granddaughter of a member and her mom is not a member. Her mom thinks that she is not old enough to make her own decisions, but we decided to go and watch the movie On The Way Home to show them how the gospel can help them in their lives. We went with a recent convert and had one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever had in my mission and the mom of Deisy felt that her daughter needed to be baptized and gave her permission. We found this family teaching their neighbors and their neighbors told us to visit them. It has been a big miracle, but this work is the Lords work and he can give and take to help us learn something is what I learned Wednesday.

Miércoles: We went back to Deisy's house to do her baptism interview and she was not there. Her and her mom had gone to the hospital for something and her mom told us that she wasn't going to be able to get baptized this weekend. BROKE MY BIG OLD HEART. I learned in that moment the importance of trusting in God and knowing that it is him that makes the decisions and that I must be humble enough to accept them and follow his will in doing so. It is OK that she didn't get baptized on Friday, it is not the end. We still are working with faith and love and we are going to see what we can do to help. Like Always :).

Viernes: There were 2 other baptisms in the ward on Friday, One girl turned 8 and then the investigador of the other elders named Antonio. I sent a picture of him with the other elders. He is 11 and got baptized and his dad is less active who is finally coming back to church again. It was a miracle to see that. Super fun baptism, and really spiritual.

Saturday: We had a big activity on Saturday called Capilla Abierta. The sisters from our whole zone had to come and then 4 Elders from the ward where I'm working. There was a lot of participation. I tried to send a lot of pictures. Capilla Abierta is an activity that is based on the principals of missionary work and the importance of using members in the work. The goal was that the members could bring their friends to the activity and then we could teach them. There were several rooms that explained about the different organizations that the church has such as: Young men's, Young women's, Relief Society, etc. It was a 4 hour long activity and we received 59 referencias. That was super cool. I hope you enjoy the pictures because I sure did :D

Sunday: DEISY CAME TO CHURCH!!! with her grandma and little sister! It was super cool to see her and gave me a great feeling of peace to know that she came. It is in the Lords hands and she will get baptized when the Lord says that it is her time. We also had another investigator in church named Julieta. 

I have learned so much in my time here. I don't have much time left. My dad wrote me an email today and said that I have 7 and a half months left. WHAT THE!? Where did the time go. I can't explain with words the joy, peace, love and everything I have felt, learned and experienced here. Every second has been worth it. I can say that with the fullness of energy and love that my heart can give. The changes are next week and I will probably be leaving from here in San Lorenzo, but wherever the Lord sends me I will go. I love you all. Thank you for the support.

Elder Jessop