Smiling IS my favorite :)

MERRY MERRY MERRY MERRY MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! :)

I honestly cannot accurately describe how happy I am at this exact moment.

If I EVER complain about a mission being hard, please slap me... Hard.

 I absolutely love Christmas in the Philippines!! This week was one that I will never forget. It was crazy busy, but Heavenly Father is so good :) 

Before I start telling you all about it...... A quick congratulations are in order: 

DANNY AND SHELLY! Congrats on the little girly poo :) (Due in May!!)  I can't wait to play with her and teach her exactly how to get on her older sister's nerves!

Okay, so let's start with Thursday! We had our Christmas Conference in Lahug. It was such a great experience. After a morning full of spiritually uplifting workshops all centered 100%  on Jesus Christ, our talent show went so well! 

Elder Consigna and I did our best to at least match our shirts :) Our custom designed pajamas are not yet finished, so - sadly - we couldn't debut those bad boys last week.

Saturday was so awesome! 

We had lunch at a member's house and I have honestly never been so full in my life. I thought I was going to die sa kabusog right then and there.

 After we ate, he gave us something that I've never eaten before. It is one of my new favorites. It's called kalamay and the best possible way I can describe it is by referring us all to the scene in Gene Wilder's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when the kids run into the huge room and start breaking open the plants, balls, rocks, etc. to find delicious, gooey deliciousness inside. All the while, hearing the beautiful, "Come with me, and you'll be, in a worldddd of pure imagination!!" (Please don't ask why I can describe this scene with such accuracy ;) ...) 

Needles to say, we have another appointment set up with Brother Sasaban for Christmas Day :)

Later Saturday night, we had our Ward Christmas Party. It was so fun! 

There were lots of presentations and games! We had a blast! We were asked to put on a "missionary presentation" as well so... We had the other missionaries in Carcar sing "12 Days of Christmas" and Elder Consigna and I acted out each one every time. 

 The next day at church so many primary children ran up to me and yelled, "KUCKAWW" and flapped their arms like a bird (That was the partridge in a pear tree)... 

Saturday was a success and a half as well because John Ross and Jholiver got interviewed for their baptism and they are all set to be baptized... wait for it.... CHRISTMAS DAY!!! Yup, see you all at 4pm here in Carcar on Christmas :) I am stoked. Tatay Villaser (their grandpa) will be baptizing them!!

 Last night, the Tan Family (from San Nicolas.. My last area) came down just to take us out to dinner. They. Are. So. Nice. It took them over 3 hours to get here because of traffic! They took me, Elder Consigna, and Elder Archibald out to dinner and then just drove right back! They even left presents... I'm not able to accurately describe how excited I was to see the shirt that they had made for me. I love it. "Elder Jacobs <3 Cebu" :)) They are way too nice to me. I honestly felt like I was home for Christmas last night because of them. Thank you, Tan Family!!! :)

This morning, I finally got to open my last day on the Lego Advent Calendar. To my great pleasure, I found an oddly jolly, un-assembled Darth Vador waiting behind the door. Now, my collection is complete. Thank you, mama :)

Also! Elder Consigna's "friend" sent him a package last week and I got a stocking with my name on it as well! It is ready to be stuffed with all those presents that you sent, mom! You can bet I'll be up a 4am like usual to open stockings ;)

Later tonight, we got invited to a member's family home evening "Christmas-Eve Edition" ... It should be super fun!

Tomorrow, after Skyping with my family, before the baptism, I really want to see if the hospital here in Carcar will let us come in and Christmas Carol for at least a little bit. 

All in all, this last week was amazing. I can't describe how happy I am to be in the service of our God. Heavenly Father is so good to His children. He only asks that we follow Him.

 Not very different than an earthly father and his child. Growing up, as children, our parents promise us that they know what is best for us. They have experience and knowledge that we do not have. They ask us to do what they ask because they want us to be safe, happy and successful. Because we love and respect them, we do as we are told.

As we are all focused on Christmas, I hope we can all ponder how it is that we can make this "Christmas feeling" we all love, last a little bit longer in our hearts.

As we are all reading the birth of Jesus Christ in Luke Chapter 2, let us remember what it means for each and every one of us individually.

Many times, we get so caught up in the "Baby Jesus" that we forget what is so miraculous about Him. Let us remember that it is the same Jesus Christ that was born in a manger among the animals, that created worlds without end.

This is the same Jesus Christ that, before coming to Earth, stood on the right hand of the Father as the details of the Great Plan of Redemption were set forth. This is Jesus Christ - who suffered all for us that we might have the chance to return to Heavenly Father's presence. Giving his life and taking it once more, never again to experience pain or sickness.

I love Jesus Christ. We have much to learn of Him. He came into the world in the lowest possible station in life, but he set the example for us and overcame all.

I know that we can do the same. Let us remember him and start today on our journey to be just like him.



I love all of you and want you all to feel how I feel now. This happiness is only made possible through our dedicated obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loves us and is calling after each and every one of us. Especially during this Christmas season :) Merry Christmas and I love you!!

Love,

Elder James Ryan Jacobs

P.S. Smiling IS my favorite :)

Like Our Cool Ride?

Malipayong Pasko!

Merry Christmas to all! Well... it's almost Christmas:) How is everyone? Boy do I sure love all of you. 

Like our cool ride? Do you see me in my shades?

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this beautiful Christmas Season of 100 degrees and 90% humidity ;) 

Oh wait....is it 100 degrees and 90% humidity where you are???

Haha I just realized today how used to this weather I am. I l.o.v.e. it!

So, as I was thinking about what I was going to write, I realized that you probably don't want to just read my boring studies (for you maybe.. ;) ..) every single week.

 This week I just want to give an update on mission life! It was an awesome week  and I am so looking forward to this next week.

Last week was MLC (Mission Leaders Conference) and it went great - I think I already reported on that? What I didn't get to write last week was the fact that we are preparing a sweet presentation for our Christmas Conference coming up! 

Carcar Zone is going to take the prize for best Christmas skit....hands down. Haha okay I'm not going to get too ahead of myself, but come on... Of course we will. 

We have a member that we worked with here in Carcar Ward that helped us mix some music for a dance/story thing. (I get to dance...YES)

I'll send you the song, mama!

Okay i just realized that MLC was on Thursday, not Tuesday like usual so I didn't share that with you all. 

On Wednesday, we traveled to Cebu to spend the night there.

That night we ate at a place called Casa Verde and it was delicious. 

Four of us split, this HUGE milkshake and a 9 inch burger. It was hands down the best American food I've had in a long time. 

The next morning, about 8 of us Zone Leaders kept the tradition of playing basketball at about 5:45am. It was awesome!

This last Saturday, our ward here in Carcar held their annual Temple trip! We attended and took with us three of our investigators: Michelle, Siglo, and Kissy. They LOVED it! It was so fun to be so close to the temple and to be able to conduct a few temple tours. 

We have our Cebu Island Christmas Conference tomorrow! I am so excited! I can remember vividly last Christmas Conference and it was so awesome. An amazing workshop, lunch, and talent show. Our zone will be performing this year. I'll send an update on that next week :)

This December 27th we will be having the baptism of Jojo and Johnjohn Mariño. John Ross is 12 and Johliver is 11. They have moved in with their grandparents who are recent converts. They are planning on staying with their Grandparents and so we started teaching them back in October/November so they could prepare for baptism. I'll keep you updated on that as well.

Elder Consigna and I are absolutely loving working right now. Carcar is such an amazing area to be in! We are truly seeing the hand of the Lord in our work. We had our Zone Training Meeting this last Monday. The Doctrine we discussed was given by President McCurdy at MLC and was on "Making our Calling and Election Sure." I loved it. Like many times before, I have mentioned how real this gospel is... It is SO TRUE. 

I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that, through Him, we have a possibility of Life Eternal. I know that, as we learn to repent perfectly and align our lives with the Father's will, we can experience the saving power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that He did not only suffer our sins - but rather, every possible feeling that we can experience in our mortal state. Let us not forsake Him. Let's turn to Him and follow Him. I love the Christmas Message (see the link below) the church has put out this year. He - Jesus Christ, the Son of God - is the Gift. 

I love you all so much! Have an awesome week :)

Love,

Elder Jacobs

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-00-1460-he-is-the-gift?lang=eng

Hey Mom!!! Thanks for the AWESOME Lego Advent Calendar!!!!!

The kids here will LOVE these Legos!!

Typhoon Ruby = 6 Elders in 1 apartment for 3 days!!!

Hello from a life boat in the middle of the ocean!!

Jokes lang haha I'm sorry Mama :) Before I start, I feel the need

Sorry...this is the only pic I took of the storm!

to just re-assure everybody that WE ARE ALL 100% OKAY.



Thank you so much for the prayers and fasts this last week. The storm miraculously downgraded and did not turn out to be as crazy as thought.


We had a crazy week though, that is for sure!

So, let's start with the storm so we can really settle mom's nerves..

On Friday, we were told to get all missionaries in our zone in their apartments by 5pm for the rest of the night.   We had four other Elders stay with us in our apartment!

Friday was a pretty slow night and nothing much happened, except some rain :)

Saturday morning we were informed that we were able to make a couple appointments, but needed to be inside once again by 12 noon for the day.

It really wasn't very exciting (in terms of the storm) here in Carcar. There was a rain and some strong winds, but no real damage.

Sunday, we were still not allowed to go outside. We got permission to hold Sacrament in our apartment - it was an amazing experience that I won't forget.




Sunday was a great day to get to know a few of the elders a little bit more in our zone. We just studied, talked, and ate all day :)








All in all, that is basically the gist of the typhoon from here in Carcar!

Don't worry about us one bit! Every single missionary and - as far as I know - person we know was unharmed.

I am so grateful for all of your prayers and Fasting there at home! It was really a miracle that the typhoon weakened and went north of where they thought it would land.

Please help me thank Heavenly Father for His divine protection.

Transfer day was last Thursday! Wow. I have never been so busy on a transfer day. Everything from boats being shut down in preparation for the storm to paranormal activity started happening over here in Carcar Zone!

Haha we ended up traveling down to Argao that day for a few hours to help with a....... situation down there. All in all, it was an awesome, long, super great, tiring, but effective day :)

Companion!! Elder Consigna is a stud muffin. I don't remember if I mentioned this already, but we are actually brothers in the mission! Elder Ferris trained him as well.

I am soooo excited for this transfer. He is such a great missionary. He is hilarious as well. We are getting along great and I only see things getting even better :)

We leave for MLC tonight around 5pm! We will travel up to Cebu and sleep there so we can be at MLC at 9am tomorrow morning. Honestly, MLC is my favorite part of the month :) Missionary Leadership Council is held typically on the first Tuesday of the month in Cebu (except this month due to conflicts) and is where all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders meet with President and the assistants for training and discussion. I am stoked :)

In closing, I just wanted to share something I read last night.

 Brigham Young asked a question: "How do we know if we are obedient?"

It immediately reminded me of Sister Engle's question a few weeks back. I know it's different, but it relates I promise. She asked: "How do we know if we served a successful mission?"

Her answer was spot on - we can gain a perspective of how successful our mission was by looking at how well our desires to be obedient remain throughout our lives.

Brigham Young answered his question this way: "We have no witness to ourselves internally, without the spirit of revelation. We have no witness outwardly, only by obedience to the ordinances." I love this.


Internally, we HAVE to receive a witness directly from the Lord in all things - not just during our mission, but in life. In order to have a clear conscience before the Lord, we need to do everything that lies in our power and then receive that witness through the spirit of revelation.

Outwardly, the ONLY WAY we can MEASURE our conversion (or success) is by obedience. How obedient are we? Do we do what we know we should do? It's that simple. 

 Strive for that witness...to know the Savior for ourselves, and then strive to BECOME obedient. Don't just do the actions, but be the person. I love you all so much! I am so happy to be here right along side you in this journey of life! I LOVE this gift of life. I hope you do to. Let's improve and progress every day. Let's just focus on being a little bit more like Jesus Christ every single day. I know that, as we do this, we will be given strength to become better. Through Jesus Christ, all things are possible.

Love You!!!

Elder Jacobs

Make your siblings your best friends. Make them the ones you go to first.

HELLO!!!

I'm teaching the kids here everything I know!

Okay, this was a crazy fast week! It was so awesome though!! I have lots to share so I'm going to jump right in! Stop me if I go too fast ;)

To all those who had the belief that Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at our friend's house....

only exists in the North American Continent, 

THINK AGAIN! Elder Edvalson and I got invited to a family's house last Thursday. Yes, they are filipino; no, they were not raised in the Philippines. 

They lived in the states for over 40 years. They don't even speak Bisaya haha. They aren't members but they invited us over to have a real Thanksgiving dinner. Oh my goodness was I in heaven. 

I haven't had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and Dr. Pepper IN SUCH A LONG TIME. Just stop and think about how happy I was that day. 

Yea. It was awesome.

Okay, next. We had transfer calls on Monday! I am still praying for a confirming revelation that Elder Edvalson really is supposed to leave me :( 

Haha just kidding. I know it's what needs to happen, but that doesn't change how hard it is! 

We have gotten super close this last transfer and I am so grateful for everything he has taught me. He will be transferring to Basak (in the city). 

Don't look Mom...

My new companion's name is Elder Consigna! I have met him a couple times and I know he is a great missionary! This will be his first transfer as a Zone Leader so we'll get some training in as well! 

We have two areas being whitewashed in our zone! Wow. That is crazy! 

 

On top of that, we get two brand new missionaries! I am so excited! I love working with the missionaries that just got here. It's gonna be a good transfer.

 Next, I want to just share a really quick verse I read this week that really

Wow! My amazing brother, Billy, is even famous here!!!

caused me to think back on my family and everything since I was little up until now. 

Family first is something that my parents have done an amazing job teaching me since I was born. 

I came across it as I was studying. Alma Chapter 39 was listed as a reference for the question, "How can I avoid the evils that threaten my family?" Let's read one verse. The counsel of a father to a son: 

Alma 39:10 - "And I command you to take it upon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings; for behold, thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to be nourished by your brothers. And give heed to their counsel."

Since before I can remember, my mom and dad have instilled this true phrase in me: "Your brothers are your best friends. They will always be there for you. Talk with them as much as possible." 

I love my brothers. Billy, Danny, and Jon are my best friends in this life. I can't relate the countless experiences that we've had together. I am so grateful for the counsel and examples that they have given. 

My only advice to all those who read this: Make your siblings your best friends. Make them the ones you go to first. 

"God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be." I love my family. I am grateful for righteous parents who have done everything imaginable to raise their children in truth and light. Love you!

Lastly, before I close.... We have received several texts from the mission office this morning warning of an upcoming hurricane/typhoon. We are not sure the level of severity, but it is scheduled to hit somewhere around here this upcoming weekend. 

Don't worry about us; we'll be fine :) We will have 72 hour kits and everything packed so don't worry! We have a whole procedure that we follow as Zone Leaders.

But please just keep these people in your prayers. They have experienced so many hardships. I have no doubt that they can overcome anything thrown their way, but let's lift and strengthen them through prayer. Thank you! I love you all so so so much! 

Love,

Elder Jacobs