Familia!
Who would've ever thought that they were real??? "Sleep tight" they say, "Don't let the bed bugs bight." How in the world are you supposed to sleep tight when you know there are bed bugs all over the place? Did you even know they were real? I sure didn't! With Elder Kloepfer being in a trio we had to add another bed to our apartment. The housing coordinators went to a home they recently shut down in Phoenix and grabbed a bed from there and brought it over. The funny thing about it is that Elder Oscarson and Elder Forson, another missionary that we live with, fought over who would take the new bed. I won't lie, it was a pretty nice bed, but definitely not worth it. Elder Oscarson won the debate, but in the long run, Elder Forson definitely won. Elder Kloepfer escaped with 0 bites, the rest of us got 1, and then Elder Oscarson looked like he had chicken pox. Someone has to provide a meal for those little guys though, right? So, this week was fairly eventful. Lots of teaching, throwing away some beds, spraying our apartment, and meetings. Life is good.
This week we went on exchanges back to Phoenix, man I love that place. The people you meet there...they're incredible. Some of the craziest stories from my mission come from Phoenix. The thing that I love about it though is that pretty much everyone there speaks Spanish. I've definitely missed serving in a Spanish ward and so it was nice to get back into it a little bit. I was so stoked to finally get a home cooked Mexican meal and then we had Sandwiches.... at least they put Jalapenos on them haha. It was a little bit of a different exchange and I just tagged along with two elders. One of them had PTSD and about an hour into the exchange he had an episode. Luckily the companion had been there for a previous one and knew how to take care of it all. We had to wait there while he came out of it himself. We went back to the apartment and the elder who had the attack went to sleep for a bit while the other elder and I talked for about two hours. We then went to dinner and the other elder still wasn't feeling too well so I went back to the apartment with him while his companion went out to do visits with a member. The elder I was with didn't want to go back to bed because he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep throughout the night if he did, so I had the chance to just sit and talk for about 3 hours with this elder. The first elder I talked to had been out for about 23 months, the second didn't have too much time in the field. It was a day that I won't forget. I sat there in the first conversation picking the elders brain who had been out for 23 months, trying to learn all I could from him before he went home. Then in the evening it was a complete role reversal as this younger missionary asked me questions about my mission. It was nice to reflect on the miracles that I had seen, the lessons that I have learned, and the change that I've gone through. My entire perspective of life has been change by these last 20 months and I know that there is still much to learn in the months to come.
Yesterday Jasmine asked me if I would baptize her. I'm so excited for Friday. Its a day that has been in the works for a very, very long time. As I've thought about this entire process that we've gone through with her, I've been able to reflect a lot about the answers I've received as we've met with her. I counted and we have had about 70 lessons with Jasmine in the last 6 months. In preach my gospel, there are 4 lessons that missionaries usually teach before baptism.... and we've had 70. It was amazing as we would cluelessly spend time before lessons wondering what we could possible talk about with her and then as we kneel in prayer instantly we knew what to do. I remember, time and time again as we prayed for her I would just have an overwhelming feeling come over me and know that it was all in His hands and that He would take care of it all. He definitely has, and I know that He will continue to take care of her. I know that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ will always be there for us. They are not a light at the end of the tunnel, rather they are the light that guide us through. It has been clear to see this simple truth through Jasmine's journey, and I know its a truth that applies to us all.
I love you all!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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