June 23, 2014

I have so much to say and not enough time! I'll try to cram it all in here.

On Tuesday, we got the opportunity to go to Girls' Camp and talk to the YW in the Stake about being a sister missionary. The Stake President had us answer some of their questions. He called on me frequently because I am "well-seasoned" in missionary work as he put it. I was grateful for the opportunity I had to share some of my testimony of missionary work with these young girls. I didn't think many of them were listening, but then one of the YW in our ward spoke in Sacrament Meeting and referenced some of the things I said. Wow. I had no idea these youth looked up to me that much, but I am grateful I have lived in such a way that I am not ashamed of the things they may have learned from observing me.

We had another lesson with our investigator Caleb. We went over Tuesday morning. He was so excited to see us. He brought out various things for us to sit on for our lesson. We asked him why he wanted to be baptized, and he said that he really wants to be like Jesus Christ and he wants to be part of our family and do good things. He's such a good boy and he just wants to choose the right! I wish we could help his parents see how important this is! After we finished the lesson and he said the closing prayer, he looked up and said, wanna help me make a tent? We said we would, and we helped him assemble this canopy thing. After we finished, he said, let's have another lesson in my tent! So we did.

We met with Emily. She is amazing. We finished teaching the Plan of Salvation. She loved the idea of eternal families. We also had a lesson with Paris. We came in and the first thing she said was, well, I decided to quit smoking. And then I want to be baptized. I was so happy to see the change that the Spirit had worked in her heart! She picked July 19, the Saturday before I go home. I say this all the time, but seriously, I can't say it enough. There is absolutely NOTHING like watching the gospel change people. That's the part of missionary work that I'm going to miss the most.

We taught lots of other lessons. I wish I could tell you about all of them, but there simply isn't enough time. Just imagine back to back appointments Tuesday afternoon through Sunday morning and that is how crazy our week was. Miracles are happening here. I am continuously amazed at just how perfectly the Lord makes everything work. This has to be His work because we are simply too imperfect to cause all these amazing things on our own.

I gave my departing testimony at Zone Conference. That was hard. My whole mission I've watched missionaries stand and talk about their missions. They all say, it goes fast so make it count, and then suddenly, here I am, crying and saying the same things they've all said. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for my mission. I cry at least twice a day. This has been such a blessing to my life.

The ant bites I got last week turned into a severe infection, so I asked for a priesthood blessing. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. The elder giving me the blessing spoke the exact things I needed to hear. The blessing encouraged me to reflect on how much I have changed on my mission, so I've been doing a lot of reflecting. I'm grateful for the trials and challenges I have faced and continue to face because it means the Lord wants me to be something different. I'm grateful my Father in Heaven loves me enough to let me struggle sometimes so that I can grow and change. I have so much more to say about this, but I'll save some of it for my three remaining emails.

Have a great week!

With love,

Sister Jasperson

Caleb and me in front of his tent