Jessica Jo in Guayaquil : YO TE SEGUIRE!!!!!

October 6, 2014

BON JOUR!!!!! (Joke, I only know Spanish. Haha, pulling an Elder Christofferson from General Conference this last weekend. When he started his talk by saying, “Buenas Dias”, it was so funny because one of the missionaries I was with, Hermana Rodriguez, didn’t get why he said, “Buenas Dias” until like halfway through the next person’s talk...it was pretty funny!) Isn’t that the coolest thing ever that the General Authorities are speaking at General Conference in their native languages now?! The spirit was SOO powerful with the few Seventies who gave their talks in Spanish.

Oh and speaking of Spanish - great news...I UNDERSTOOD practically EVERYTHING they said....and it was all in Spanish!!! OH I am so happy :) My only complaint is that the translators at times don’t express the intensity that are in the voices of the prophet and apostles. (Better said, they did a poor job with expressing emotion for Elder Holland’s talk, but I could see the urgency in his face and hand movements.)

In my General Conference notes, I did my best to sum up my thoughts from the conference and this is all that I wrote...."Conclusión es la Iglesia es verdadera!!!!" [Conclusion is the Church is true!] I loved the talk given by Elder Eduardo Gavarret of the Seventy. For one, it was in Spanish; and two, he truly expressed the simplicity of the invitation from Jesus Christ to FOLLOW HIM. May we all be able to say, "Yo te seguiré!" or "I will follow Thee." I also LOVED Elder Bednar’s talk, no surprise there, with his story he told about his little boys.

I can truly testify that am here on a mission, and that I truly have the desire to serve, because I have experienced the blessings from being a member of this church. I also personally prayed in my heart to my Heavenly Father that if it would be possible to receive a confirmation that President Thomas S. Monson truly is a prophet of God. Family, I cannot deny the strong spirit I felt after my fervent prayer to my Heavenly Father. President Monson is a prophet of God, what he says is what our Savior and Heavenly Father WANT us to hear.

In his letter this week, Dad shared with me a tweet President Uchtdorf sent out on Twitter after conference was over. President Uchtdorf said, “I learned so much from the many different messages at conference. It is now up to me to act upon what I learned.” I invite all of you to think about what you learned from listening to conference and then do something about it!

This week, we also had a meeting with our Mission President, and we talked about so many things my mind was blown...so let’s just say that with General Conference and then with the reunion con el presidente [meeting with the president], I had a spiritually filled week.

Super blurry picture, but here are all of the amazing ladies I live with after our meeting with President Riggins
L to R: Hermana Rodriguez, Hermana B, Hermana Yurt, Hermana Perez

I’m super short on time today, so just a quick update on our investigators:

This week we got creative with reaching out to one of our investigators. We are teaching a single mother named Esdrina, who is not a member of the church, and her daughter Karen who is 15 years old and menos activo [less active]. They have been away on vacation and came back to a surprise on their doorstep.

Doorstep gift for Karen and Esdrina

[Brent’s translation of the message on the Star: Karen and Esdrina, If you will allow Jesus Christ to guide your life, His light will illuminate your life for a better future!!! We feel happy to be your friends. Thanks for the opportunity to teach you how to come even closer to Christ and have more joy! We love you very much!!! With love, Hermana Bartholomew & Hermana Perez]

Familia Jara: They are still the great family of GOLD that we have the privilege to teach. This week the parents were having a fight over a misunderstanding and poor communication so they decided to consult us for help. HAHA! As you know, I have never been married, but I was able to give the best advice because of the greatest examples in my life....my parents! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING Mom and Dad!

Joao (I now call him JO): He is continuing to amaze us with his desire to change daily and his excitement for his baptism this coming weekend.

Well family, conclusions from this week - I LOVE being a missionary, the church is true, and we truly have prophets on the earth today!

CON MUCHISIMO AMOR,

Hermana Bartholomew

P.S. A family that we eat with have the CUTEST three little girls. They call me “naña”, which is short for sister (like “sis”). One afternoon we were practicing being missionaries with them so they will be prepared for one day when they become missionaries themselves. The best was when they pretended to contact a family and they said, “Hi, I am a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we want to sing you a song..." Then, they burst out into singing “I Am a Child of God.” There was such a sweet spirit there that afternoon.

I would like to introduce you to the new Hermana Bartholomew (with her sweater and Ecuador ring) and Hermana Rodriguez (with her belt (which is actually mine- but we share clothes so we have double the wardrobe) and her glasses and watch).