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

Paraguay Week Two‏

Hey everybody, I have like no time. I'm going to tell you about my life.

 

We walk 6 to 8 miles a day, It's awesome.

I can speak Spanish to a lot of people, It's awesome.

I'm a missionary, It's awesome.

I'm in an Internet little place writing you guys. It's awesome.

 

This place is beautiful, I promise I will send pictures next week. I'm struggling to find time to do anything. We are always busy teaching the Word of God.

 

To those of you who have emailed me and haven't received an email back from me its because I have no time. Grandma I'm really sorry, I love you. I have no time, Next Week.

 

I have to write The President of my misión in Spanish. Which is really good practice. I can go a full day without saying English now too, Only Spanish. People if you guys could here me speak Spanish you would be amazed. The gift of tongues is real. If you don't know what that is you can go on lds.org and look it up or you can go to church on Sunday and ask someone off of 9th Street and Western.

 

Anyways I hope you are all doing great, I haven't gotten sick yet which is a good thing. My mom and dad are worried sick. You should read their emails. The email might as well say please don't die Hahaha. I will be back safe and sound though. Probably 30 pounds lighter but that is OK. I have the weight to loose that's for sure right mom.

 

The food here by the way is really normal. The staples here are rice and pasta. I like rice and pasta so I am satisfied. They have frosted Flakes. I like cereal so that is bueno. They have ALOT of bread and I can eat bread for days so that is bueno too.

 

Grandma Jessop: Your birthday is coming up, or it happened already. I know it is in July but I cant remember the actual date, but please forgive me. I want to wish you a happy happy birthday. They say with each age they grow wiser. You are the wisest one in our family, so it is not like you need much more wiseness. You can give some of the wiseness to me, I need it. I'm only 19. Love you grandma

 

Got to go. I love you all.

 

Elder Jessop

Mi primero semana en Paragua

Hi everybody, I've been in Paraguay for a week almost. I love it here. They sent me to a place called Caguazuu which is the farthest away from the ciudad Asuncion and here they speak the most Guarani which is the native dialect that the natives speak down here. Some people only speak Gurani but most can speak both idiomas. 

I love you all and want you all to know that I'm doing well. My new companion is Elder Morgan and he is awesome. He has been here a year and a month and is fluente in Spanish. 

My Spanish is getting pretty good. I learned more in a month than I did my whole high school career. That's what happens when you are on the Lords errand. I love it here and the people are really nice. They are also really poor. We went into a house that well wasn't a house. There were no windows just holes in the wall. No doors and everything was outside. It was like they are always camping basically. It is really humbling and you really come to realize how blessed we really are. 

Family: I love you all and I know that you guys will be fine and I will be fine. I'm in am in Paraguay but I'm here for a reason and I will be fine. Two years is a little while, but in a couple days I will have already have been out here for two months. It will go by quick especially when we look back on it. It is a little hard for me, but I can do it. Philippians 4:13 family. Love you all and keep pumping things. That didn't make sense but everything is mixed up in my head because of the two languages and stuff. 

Bakers Dozen: I love you all. I hope nothing is missing oh wait there is something missing, ME. Haha keep doing what you always do, being awesome. Love you guys, miss you, and I want you all to know that I'm here by my own choice. I want to spread the work of the Lord to everybody I can here. I love you guys.

I love you all and I hope you appreciate this blog. Thank you dad for keeping it updated. 

Elder Jessop

I'm in Paraguay now parents. :)‏

Hey Parents,

I landed in Paraguay and I love it here. There are so many trees and red dirt like St. George. The people are awesome and I haven't even met them. I took some pictures of the sunrise and stuff, but I want to let you guys know that I love you and I am safe. I'm an obedient missionary and I am obedient because I want miracles. Obedience brings blessing, but exact obedience brings miracles. This needs to be short because they said 5 minutes. I love you all and send my love to the sisters, the Bergstroms, the rest of the family, and etc.

My PDAY is Monday, so you will hear from me on Mondays.

Much love

Elder Jessop

Last Couple Days in the MTC‏

Hey everybody, I've got ten minutes to write this just so you all know. 
A lot has happened this week. I'll just go through the last I guess.

My Birthday: It was my birthday this week. I am 19 whoot whoot. That's a big number. I'm almost two decades old. My old district made me a really sweet card. I want to send it home so it doesn't get ruined but I don't know how. They sang happy birthday to me three times and it was just a nice day. First time without the family on my birthday, but I have my own little family here that took care of me. It was really funny because they started singing to me and I forgot that it was my birthday so I was surprised and then I remembered. It was funny.

Blood Sausage: I ate a blood sausage. It was not good at all. I better get used to that kinda of stuff though.

The Broadcast about missionary work: Sweet broadcast about missionary work. The apostles spoke and basically said that we need to update missionary work to the way technology is changing. In a little while missionaries can have Facebook and teach people off of iPads and stuff like that. That is kinda cool. I probably won't use it because I am going to the poorest country in South America, but that is still awesome.

I leave the MTC on Tuesday which is kinda crazy. I feel like I haven't been here that long. I head to Paraguay and start getting to work. It is going to be awesome and I cant wait. I met a lot of great people and they have all affected me in a positive way. I have learned a lot and I have grown a lot. I could go home now and I would be totally different person. Anyways I love you all and I hope you enjoy the pictures and the updates and stuff. I appreciate the emails and letters. They make my day.

Yo se que la iglesia de JesuCristo es verdadero y amo trabajador para Dios y yo no espero ir a Paraguay en cuatro dias. mi español es dando mejor y lo amo la idioma.

Elder Jessop

It's Been a Month‏ Already

Hey Everybody, I hope all is well. I've been here a month and it's gone by pretty fast in my opinion. The days are so long that I don't even remember them sometimes. I love it here though, it's been very fun. A lot of change has happened though. I'm in a new district now and I lost a companion because he got switched and my teacher left. I'm tired a lot because the days are so long.

 

Elder Katzenbach: Is no longer my companion. Now its just me and Elder Huntsman. Its really weird because we are still in the same room and district, but we are no longer companions. I don't have to wait for him or do anything with him, but we still have fun.

 

I can honestly barely even remember what happened last week. It just all kind of blends together.

 

I got a new district though. They separated us because there were to many people and not enough space on the computers, so we got switched. A lot of change has happened to me and my companion in particular.

 

I've only got two weeks left in this MTC and then I'm off to Paraguay.

 

Hannah Jessop: Hi twin of mine, today is June 20th. That means tomorrow is June 21st and you know what that means. It's your Birthday!!!  Yippee  Wa hooooooh. The big 19. You have almost been alive for 2 decades. Yea I hope you have a good one. You've spent 18 years sharing one with me, so now you are on your own sis. Keep working hard and studying. It will pay off big time. Any ways Love you sis. Virtual hug through the computer.

 

If you all might have been wondering it is my birthday tomorrow too. Big party going down at the MTC.... jk.

 

Update on the head injury: I just have a black eye now, A nice little shiner. Its like I got punched in the face by a guy on the street I was proselyting too. I didn't though, so don't worry. I did see one guy with a gun shooting things on the street though last Saturday. Like walls,cans and stuff. That was interesting, It was just a BB gun though. No worries.

 

I love you all and I'm thinking about you. Stay in touch. 

I know this church is true and I know that I'm here on this mission for a reason. I love serving and I love being a disciple for Jesus Christ. I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God and they go hand and hand together in testifying of Christ. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and I know that there is a living prophet and apostles on the Earth today. I know that these things are true and that Christ lives and that his restored church is on the Earth today.

 

Elder Jessop

 

Week 3 Was Crazy!

Hi everybody. I´m doing good and Some crazy things happened to me this week. I was unconscious, I had to speak Spanish to actual people in Argentina, and my companion has 300 dollars worth of American candy, which is like gold out here.

The Suitcase: My roommate has a brother that is just starting his mission and came here to the MTC two weeks after him and brought a suitcase full of candy and gave his half to his brother and kept the other half for himself. The candy was the most candy I have ever seen in my life. It was a carry on full of candy more than you could think of. It is ridiculous. He is already gaining weight from it. I asked his brother how much it cost and he said it was upwards of 300 dollars. Who spends 300 dollars on candy!!!!!! 300 dollars. I can do a lot with 300 dollars and my companion has 300 dollars worth of candy out here. It is insane.

Proselytismo: We do this thing out here called Proselytismo, where we go out and proselyte to real people in the streets of Argentina while we are in the MTC. They gave us a sack lunch and put us on a bus drove us to the middle of Argentina and dropped us off and told us to be back in that spot in 5 hours and they gave us a map. At first we didn't know what to do. It is a culture shock compared to California. It is poor and heartbreaking. There are literally dogs everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! I probably saw 300 dogs in 5 hours roaming the streets. The people are poor, there are abandoned street projects everywhere. The trash pick up is, a horse, two guys, and a giant sack strapped to the horse. I probably saw three drug deals, while I was out there. All the houses are gated off, so it is really hard to get into the houses and knock on the door because there is a gate. I was talking to a guy in Spanish from his window because he didn't want to come out and talk to us. It was hard. Especially speaking Spanish. If you want to learn Spanish, then the best way to do is to be put in an environment where you don't have a choice and you have to speak Spanish, which is what we did. I've been out here three weeks and I could actually communicate and understand what people were saying to me and it was awesome. We do it again this Saturday and hopefully we do a better job.

The Pole: We were playing football during actividad fisica and low and behold I ran into a pole. Running full speed trying to catch and football. I don't remember anything. Hahaha yea it was pretty dumb. Everybody thought I was going to die and I made some girl cry on accident, but I hit the pole and I was literally out. I don't remember anything until I was being walked into the Presidents office and there were a bunch of people there. I have a huge bump on my head and it is spreading and now it is just a bruise. I don't have a concussion though, which is good but now I cant play basketball because the missionaries won't let me until next week. I'm lucky I am OK though and it definitely could have been worse. :)

Katie C :Thank you for writing me a letter! I sincerely appreciate it! I read it and I'm glad every one is doing well! Love you all so much.

My experiences here have already been awesome. I love it here and I am so glad that I am a missionary for Jesus Christ to spread his gospel. I didn't realize how much I loved it until I went out proselyting. The middle of Argentina, basically on the border of a 2nd or 3rd world country. There is no place else I would rather be than on a mission. Yea it is two years, but it will be worth it. In fact it already has been. While I will experience tons of rejection and sadness for the next two years, the times of good and happiness will much out way the bad times. I have been following all the rules and waking up and 6:30 am and going to bed at 10:30 pm and have just been loving it. It is only been 3 weeks and I have two years, but I will be done before I know it and the time will fly by. I love each and every one of you and I am so grateful for your support and for your love. Keep it real and don't forget to write or Email me Por Fa Vor.

Elder Jessop

Greetings from Argentina, it has been a fun two weeks. Stressfull, but fun.

Flying By: This week has gone by pretty fast. A lot has been done with no time at all to do them, for example I only have an hour to write emails. Only an hour! (1) I feel like I need at least three. Everything is going well though

Missionaries, or Lack There of: This week a lot of missionaries left the MTC to go on the mission and we only had 36 kids left here and it was empty. There was literally nobody here and it was weird. We had 91 and now we have only 36. We get new ones today though and we will be back up to I think over 50 missionaries. It is definately not like the Provo MTC.

Companion Stories: My companion Elder Huntsman cut his hand on a hook and needed 35 to 40 sticthes which is ALOT. That dummy was just swinging on stuff and he caught a hook and thats about it. Speaking of my companions they really like to stay up and play games haha. We will be in bed at night and they just wont go to sleep, but they told me last night that they are going to go to bed on time every night now, which is GREAT!

No Sleep: I am tired all the time. I get like 7 and a half hours of sleep every night and we are in class like all day and I am always tired. I dont know how I have been staying awake in class, but I havent fallen asleep once and that is good.

Argentina is beautiful. There are dogs and cats everywhere. We actually feed a cat named gato and he comes to be fed every breakfast, lunch and dinner. He knows the times of the day that we eat and he is always there.

Ive cried a lot since I have been here. Like happy cry and for those of you who know me you all know that I cry, but it is really easy to cry because you feel so good.

Mckenna Smith: Congratulations on your mission call!!!!!!!!!!!! Billings, Montana I hear! That is so awesome. On one of the flights down here we met a companionship who served the first part of their missions in Billings and they absolutely loved it! You are going to love it and I wish you all the luck in the world! Love you girl.

Anyways I've got a lot to do today like iron shirts, clean my room, play soccer, and all that jazz. I hope to here from you all soon. Email or letters whatever it may be. Good luck on everything and I love you all.

Elder Jessop

Greetings From Argentina. The 1st Week.‏

Hey everybody back home, my first week is over and I can’t tell if it went by fast or slow. It’s been a crazy experience though all around. I am learning Spanish left and right. There are a lot of people here in the MTC that only speak Spanish and it is fun to talk to them because it helps me learn the language better. It is a blessing to be here and its good fun for sure. 

The Plane Ride: It was hard to get down here. Three different airplanes it took and It took 27 hours to get from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires. I was by myself for a while, but I sat next to this girl on the plane named Virginia and she was a black Baptist Minister and was really cool. We talked a lot about religion and stuff and it was really fun. Then I finally started to meet some missionaries when I landed in Salt Lake and that was a cool experience, I finally wasn’t all by myself. I also saw David Gates there and that was awesome. The last face I saw of someone I actually knew haha. If you read this Brother Gates, thank you for all of your help. I then got on a plane to go to Atlanta and that was 6 hours and it took forever. I kept staring at the TV screen that showed us how far we were away from Atlanta. Then when I got to Atlanta I met all the missionaries that were also going to the Argentina MTC. There were probably 15 or 20 of us which was cool. Then we got on our flight to Argentina which was delayed for 2 hours, so it was a 12 hour flight from Atlanta to Argentina. The sun rise out of the airplane window was BEAUTIFUL. I wish I had pictures, but I don’t. We landed in Argentina though and got all my bags and all is well.

The MTC: In Spanish the MTC is the CCM. It is a little weird because a lot of us are from America and are used to calling it the MTC. My MTC President is President Openshaw. This dude is a wizard when it comes to scriptures. Anything you want to know he goes to the scriptures. Whether it is The Bible or the Book of Mormon or whatever he can pull it out like it is candy. There are only 93 people in this MTC compared to the MTC in Provo where there are like 8000. It is really small, but it is right next to the Buenos Aires Argentina temple which is a nice view from some windows. Some people here only speak Spanish and it is really fun to talk to them because it helps me learn a lot.  

Classes and Companions: We got companions our first day at the MTC. I have two companions; one is Elder Huntsman and the other Elder Katzenbach. They are both from Utah and are the biggest goofballs here. There is no companionship at this MTC that is crazier than us. We have so much fun it is great. I love my companions and they are just great people. Take it over the top sometimes, but they know when to stop. The classes are 16 hours a day, which leaves only 8 hours left to sleep. I have two teachers Hermano Avila and Hermano Fioramante. They are cool guys and are really good at teaching. You are literally in class and stuff and then you eat and go back to class and then do physical activity and go back to class then eat and go back to class and then sleep and do it all again. I am up at 6 and I go to bed at 1030. It is quite the lifestyle, but they say a missionary who is not tired is not a good missionary, so at least I got that down.

Nicknames: I have so many nicknames it is ridiculous. I’ll start from the beginning. My first and main nickname is ICELAND. People have been calling me that for a while. All my companions do is call me Iceland. Whenever I don’t know something they say it is because I am from Iceland it is a joke. I’ve been called Ken by some girls because they think I look like the Barbie doll Ken doll. I’ve been called Joseph Smith because some people said I looked like Joseph Smith. My companions think I look like Dwight from the office so they call me Dwight. The Spanish missionaries think I look like Edward from Twilight. It is quite the joke. It has been one week and I already have a lot of nicknames.  

Food: The food here is foreign so I have never eaten it before. Nothing like it is in the states. They make some weird stuff. Sometimes I don’t even eat haha.  

My district: My district is pretty sweet. I’ve got 12 not including me in the district and we have a good old time. We have a little bit of everything in it, but they are almost all from parts of Utah. 9 out of 13 are at least from Utah. I tell them about Los Angeles and it is like a foreign world to them  

Spanish: I’m getting pretty good at Spanish and I know it’s just the first week, but I am getting there. I swear I have learned more Spanish in here than I have all throughout high school. 6 hours of class will do that I guess.  

Actividad Fisica: This is our sports time. Everyone plays soccer because I am in South America, but I like playing basketball so I play it instead with some of the North Americans. We ball up and it is fun. We can actually leave the MTC to go play, so it is nice.  

Elder Cook: Yesterday we saw an Apostle speak in a room. Elder Cook who is an apostle of the Lord was there and he let us all shake his hand. I got to shake his hand!!! It was good. He really helped us learn. He said being an apostle is not easy and that we all have our challenges, but we can overcome those through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was a great talk and it was nice as a missionary to hear him relate to us.

I´m having lots of fun here and I am really excited to go out and serve the lord. I'm here for a reason and I know that I can help these people come unto Christ. I can’t wait. This is going to be the hardest and best two years of my life. I’m not here for fun or to travel and stuff I am here to help these people. Ayudar los personas! I want them to come unto Christ like I have. I will be rejected like crazy, but it will all be worth it. 

To all my family and friends I love you all. I hope you all read this. I miss you all a bunch. Please don’t forget to write me please. I would love a letter from any of you it is pretty simple so Por Fa Vor escriba mi.

Write me. Hope all is well and that you are doing bueno. 

I know this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Have great day’s friends.  

Jordan Rice: Have fun in the Dominican Republic it will be awesome. I love you bud

Cody: Find a job and don’t waste your time. Exercises, read or just do something productive. Love you bud.

Baker’s Dozen: I hope you’re all doing well and I love you all. Keep the vibe alive. (I don’t know what that means, but I said it anyways.) 

Family: I love you a lot. Just sayin.

Elder Jessop 

Why serve a mission?

Many young men and women of the church put on pause their lives to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We invite all to come unto Christ as we serve the Lord and his children. Many people wonder why someone would sacrifice two years, or 18 months, to serve a mission and I say this. There is nothing in the entire world I would rather do than serve a mission. It will be hard and time consuming, but it will be well worth it. 

Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16 "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"