A New Start

Updates from Jacob...

Dear Family,

Well according to all the emails that I have been receiving, back home
is the all famous Whitmer/Smith family reunion. I can say that I wish
my Mission President would have given me a small pass home so that I
could attend this amazing event. What has really gotten into my head
over here is how much I miss my family and all the crazy things that I have went through with them. When I look back on my life so far, all
the get together ,all the family trips and I can almost perfectly
identify things that I learned and how they help me in my life today.

This week has been super hard for me. We had transfers and I was
assigned a new companion. I was also given the opportunity to be the
new District Leader of the Tigbauan District. The Mission President
told me that I now have the largest district in the mission. It
covers 4 areas and has 12 Elders and Sisters with tons and tons of
people on the way to becoming members of this wonderful church. I have
already given 1 baptismal interview and have another one this week to
a little deaf girl. I guess the small amount of sign language that I
learned in Bugasong will now come in handy. Just another  example of
how things that you go through every day will help you in the near and
distant future.

It has been super hard because my new comp does not speak the mission
language at all he speaks strait Tagalog and that is super not easy to
understand. I really felt super comfortable with my last comp we had
our teaching theme down and it was really good. But now I am just
brought down to my knees being humbled yet again. The one thing I
would say to all of my cousins getting ready for a mission get ready
to be humbled every day and not just a little, all the way down to
your knees. Were you are praying, begging, hoping that if you try hard
enough that things will get better. This week I have been putting in
my share of work, just hoping that maybe things will get better. And
they will if you keep going.

I have a small feeling that what I need to work on is patience while I
am on my mission. I really feel that if I try my hardest to let the
little things go and just use my skills to the best of there ability
that I will be successful

I guess this email is just talking about what I have figured out this
week. As you all gather as a family this week. I would say thank you
for all you have taught me, grandpa you are scared of no one I have
never seen you back out of a conversation and as a kid I thought aww
here we go Grandpa Smith is talking to some more people and now here I
am on a mission and this is my life. My uncles for showing my that
things will get hard and if you dont get up and keep going then what
the heck are you a failure. That won't be happening while I am still
alive and kicking, and lastly thanks to my parents for teaching me
everything I need to survive in this world. Its all the small things
that you either said or did that are helping me now.

Maybe the title of this email is a new start, I think from now on I
will be using all my talents and everything that God has given me to
help all those around me. To look at all the obstacles that I come in
contact with and knock them down. We did that this last Saturday, we
had a baptism. Sister Nicole was baptized and she was super happy and
we broke the streak of no baptisms. It all up from here.

I love you all and hope that this week was super fun cherish these
memories and do something crazy for me. Love Elder Swanton