Weeks 45 & 46

Wow, I really need to get better at writing weekly haha.

Week 45 was not as eventful as 46, but was still a fun one.

We had our zone conference this week, and it was pretty cool since there was a lot more discussion and learning from President Wahlen than usual. He spent around an hour at the end just answering any questions we had about the gospel, and it was really inspiring and led to a lot of good answers.

We also had the chance to visit with the Oro's again, and they fed us some great homemade food! They also invited us to come over the next day and had us pick up their Jolibee order for that invite, haha.

Week 46 was quite the fun one. We had a lot of chances to eat some really tasty food, haha, as well as be able to continue improving our relationships with the ward, especially with the Oro's. They fed us Jolibee, which is a famous Filipino chicken place, and it's soooo good!

The next day we had the chance to go to the temple as a zone, and it was really nice to be able to go again, since we haven't gone in a few months. Covid restrictions are gone there now, so there were more people than what I was used to, so that was also really nice. I'm super grateful we have a temple in the Mission boundaries, and the fact that we get to go!

The sisters from our district found out that our birthdays were coming up so they prepared a little surprise with balloons and candies, cool.

On Wednesday I had the chance to conduct my first baptismal interview and it was a super special experience. His name is Issa, and some missionaries in my district had met him a little over a month ago, and he was so prepared! When I met with him, his spirit was so strong and he was so eager to do the right things and grow closer to God. He also got baptized that same weekend!

Friday was pretty cool since I got to see Joseph Hernandez again! He was a missionary who had recently gone home, and I really got close with him for the 6 weeks we lived in the same apartment, so he visited Vancouver for a bit and invited my companion and I for some sushi and some time to catch up. It was really nice, and I enjoyed the chance to also meet his dad.

Saturday was the day that Issa got baptized like I mentioned earlier, it was a neat experience to see someone make their first promise with God! May 7th was also my birthday, haha! It was a ton of fun that day, I got to call home, eat some tasty food my mom had ordered online for us, cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Brazilian party treats for dinner. Overall, it was a super interesting birthday, haha.

On the Sunday following, it was actually my companion Elder Brown's birthday, it was pretty crazy once we learned how close our birthdays were. He turned 19 and I turned 20, some members threw a birthday party for the both of us. It was super fun, and I'm really grateful for the love they showed us.

Woops! Almost forgot to mention it, but happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I'm super grateful for my mom, and for all the stuff she does for me, and the chance that I had to call her again on Sunday was also pretty nice. It definitely felt a little strange not being home for either my birthday or mother's day, but I'm still glad I'm out here, and I know we'll be able to spend mother's day together again in the not too far future. Thanks again for all you do “mãe”!

Like I mentioned in the beginning of my email, I really need to get better at sending these weekly haha, but I'm glad I'm out here on my mission and that I get to spend it with some amazing people and meet some amazing friends who are coming closer to Christ. Hope you all had a great couple of weeks as well!

Elder Jacobowski

3. Sisters' birthday surprise

4. cinnamon roll - we like it!

7. Brother Wayne Lavender invited us for lunch on Sunday

8. mom's special gift, a box full of Brazilian party treats, can't describe them but they are delicious!

9. Oro's family, amazing people

10. the Bahins, the Oros, Sister Evangelista and Sister Cobarrubia got together to celebrate our birthdays

12. picking up my Birthday cinnamon rolls ordered by my mom all the way from home

13. Birthday boys

14. mom's new favourite picture, hahaha

15. This food is sooo good!!

16. coxinha, risolis, bolinha de queijo e rolinho de presunto e queijo, hummmmmm