THE WELCOME HOME PARTAY!

Funny side note - we were waiting in terminal ONE when we suddenly realized that she would be coming in terminal TWO!!  We ran as fast as we could through the terminals and made it!

AXIOUSLY WAITING!!

Missing from this pic is Doug and Leslie Webb and Jim-Rachel-Caroline-Jake Allen.  Thanks to everyone for coming!

Grandma Judy

Grandpa David

President Mortensen, our stake president, works as an assistant secretary to the First Presidency.  He invited us up to the Church Administration building for Jessica's release.  We got to sit the conference room where the First Presidency and 12 Apostles meet.  It was beautiful and a great afternoon!  Jessica invited Ashten Edens to join us.

Home Sweet Home!

My Last Email . . .

Jason was baptized this week!  That was amazing.  We found out that he passed the interview so we pulled together one of the best baptisms you have ever seen in THREE days.  Woohooo!!!!  It was actually really good.  It was right after the women's broadcast and his parents came, along with some friends. The Elders Quorum showed up with kids and treats too! The talks were a little long, but other than that it was really good J. We had dinner on Sunday with Jason and the Leishmans and that was fun!

I got to go on the departing temple trip on Tuesday and they had the video with the blonde Eve.  I had never seen that video before. It was really really cool. I almost remembered all the words at the veil!  It was fun to be with all the departing sisters, but it was strange because many of the sisters I came with left already. I felt the Spirit really strong that day.

I also had the departing interview and that was a ton of fun.  President talked a lot about two things.  First he talked about how to be a missionary at home. He is from Utah and he is an amazing missionary. He has baptized more people in Utah than anyone I have ever met.  I have a goal to be like him.  He also talked a ton about marriage......um...... still don't quite know what to think about that.

Lurene got a bunch of people together to visit me and my companion on Friday.  It was amazing! We had lunch and just talked.  It was all of my "moms" on my mission who helped me become a missionary. 

I have been working on being consecrated (as usual) and this week I had a goal to talk to everyone.  There was a boy walking down the street while we were pulling away from an appointment, and I had the impression to talk to him, so we pulled the car over and started talking to him.  He wasn't a golden investigator but he was TOTALLY interested in what we were talking about.  God really helped us find someone who needed to be found.

The women's broadcast was also amazing!  The entire time I was tearing up because I felt like EVERY SINGLE talk was made for Amanda!  I've been praying and thinking about her so much, and it was miraculous to me to hear the broadcast and recognize that God has been thinking of her and he will help her get through it all.

Honestly I thought my last week would have been totally different. I thought that I was going to be so fired up, my key indicators would be sky high, and I was probably going to raise someone from the dead.... but this week wasn't like that at all.  This week was a normal week (with a few abnormal things)... except that PEACE has been with me consistently.  I feel so happy and so at peace.  I think my companion thinks I'm a freak because I haven't cried or anything.  I've just felt really peaceful.  So for my final "Sister Webb Sermon" I wanted to remind the members of the church what they signed up for by being baptized and obedient.  You signed up for peace.  Life will not always be easy, in fact sometimes it's a LONG HARD road... but you have to keep going.  As Elder Holland said, "some blessings come late, and some don't come till heaven, but for those who faithfully endure, they do come".  Over every hill, through every tear, in every trial, and in every smile those who faithfully endure will have peace . . . the peace Christ promised his disciples as he was nailed to OUR cross when he said, "Peace I leave with you, peace I give unto you.  Not as the world giveth give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.  FOR I THE LORD GOD AM WITH YOU whithersoever thou goest."

I witness that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints is the Kingdom of God and it has been established on the earth for EVERY soul that has ever lived and will live.  I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fullness so we can have exalation and go back to our REAL home.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and I know that Thomas S. Monson is also a prophet.  I witness that Jesus is the Christ.  The Savior and Redeemer of my soul, and though my tag comes off tomorrow (yikes) I don't need it anymore to be a missionary. 

I love you all so much and I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Sister Jessica Webb

MY AMAZING FRIENDS FROM WESTMINSTER

Jason's Baptism!!

Thank You SISTER WEBB for you service!!

Dear Jessica,

As your mission is drawing to a close, many of us who love you are reflecting on the last 18 months and the personal feelings, experiences and testimony you have shared with all of us.  We are better disciples of Christ because of your letters and great faith!  We have experienced a desire to serve others in meaningful ways, look for missionary opportunities all around us, see all those around us as our brothers and sisters, and had a desire to strengthen our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  THANK YOU for being open, honest, real, full of faith, and for working and giving all you have to the people of Long Beach, California!  We love you so much!

Mom

Last Week Out . . .

SOOOOO, this week was a mix of many feelings! 

1- Jenny- So JENNY.  This week was interesting.  We got a call from Jenny saying that she needed to talk to us on Thursday.  We scheduled an appointment for Friday.  Friday was exchanges and it was the longest day of my life.  I was exhausted, and when we pulled up to Jenny's house I didn't know what to do because we didn't actually know if she was home (she hadn't contacted us) and it was getting late... So we decided to knock on the door anyway instead of just finishing the night and going home (miracle #1). Well, we walk in the door and the house was PACKED.  There were people bouncing off the walls and all of them wanted to talk to us.  In my head I was thinking "Oh crap, there goes this lesson".  We sat down and talked for a second, and then I summoned EVERY bit of courage I had and asked everyone if they would leave so we could speak to Jenny alone... and I never do stuff like that (miracle #2).  Jenny then COMPLETELY opened up to us and told us all of her concerns and worries with the church and herself.  We had an incredible discussion.  The Spirit had filled the room and near the end we asked Jenny to pray.  I have never in my life heard someone offer a more sincere prayer.  I started crying and so did Jenny and my companion. With an abundance of the Spirit, Jenny finished the prayer and looked up she said, "I'm ready".  The tears just flowed.  (miracle #3).  We scheduled the interview for the next day and she told her girls about her decision.  Even though they weren't members (except for Rebecca) they were SO excited (miracle #4).  She passed her interview with FLYING colors (miracles #5) and she went home to tell her husband who is less active that she was ready.  Needless to say, he flipped out about tithing and a number of other things.  Jenny had received an undeniable witness that this church was true and she was devastated that she couldn't be baptized because she couldn't pay tithing.  We were depressed too.  We told President Parker and he was sad about it.  On Sunday night we received a call from him though, saying that he had talked to our mission president.  Our Mission President said that if she was completely ready to be baptized (which she undoubtedly is) she could be baptized and work with her husband to eventually pay tithing. (miracle #6)  We told Jenny last night and we are not sure what is going to happen. She was so excited and we are excited to see what happens.  She might be baptized this weekend, but she might still want more time. It was an incredible experience though and it definitely changed my life.

2- Jason also might be baptized, but he had a really hard weekend . . . so we'll see what happens.

3- Long (our new investigator’s name)- On exchanges I was trying to teach the Sister I was with about prayers, and how effective prayers can be.  So we prayed to find a new investigator and we prayed to know what to look for.  We both felt it would be an Asian male who was tall, skinny and athletic.   When I opened my eyes from the prayer there was a large, bald Asian man walking down the street and the Spirit said "Go talk to that guy".  I was thinking "Well God, the only part of the description that fits that guy is Asian but whatever you say I'll do..." So we hopped out of the car and went to talk to him. He wasn't interested but we moved along, talking to everyone and to potentials.  When we were starting to go back to the car a skinny athletic little Vietnamese boy was walking towards us.  He was the new investigator!!   AND the bald guy was his dad! :)

4- Pants- I know this sounds stupid but I prayed that I would find pants.  I don't really have a pair of pants that I like or love and I wanted a pair of pants before I went home.  So I prayed for it.  I told my companion what I was looking for and she was like "okay we'll hunt on p-day".  Well, we didn't have to.  Sister Kirk, a member in our ward, owns an online clothing store and she gave me some pants as a going away gift and then she gave Sister Allen a new dress for her birthday!  She had exactly the pants I was looking for :)

 I KNOW that this is God’s church. I KNOW HE KNOWS YOU!  He hears your prayers and He loves you more than anything in the world.  He WANTS you to succeed and if you rely on Him always you will . . . In one way or another.  I love you all, see you next week!

Love, Jekkers

Sister Allen's birthday celebration!

Party and games for Sister Allen on her birthday (which was our P-day)

2 weeks. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!  I ONLY HAVE 2 WEEKS LEFT!  SO WEIRD! This week was awesome, here are the highlights:

2 Exchanges- We went on TWO exchanges this week. and. I'm. so. tired.

Interviews- We had interviews with President this week and he talked with me about missionary work the WHOLE time  (#bestalmostlastinterviewever)!  Literally at the end he was like, "well we will miss you when you leave" and that was IT.  I wasn’t even trunky H.A.L.L.E.L.U.J.U.A. 

Zone Conference- We also had zone conference and we received instruction that we need to work more with the youth.  They told us that our focus should be on them and helping them and their friends come into the church.  It was really cool.

Dylan-  From week one when I got here there is a name in the area book that has always stood out to me.  His name is Dylan and he lives in an apartment complex but nobody wrote down his apartment number.  So because this name stuck out to me so much, one day I decided we were going to knock every door in the complex.  Nobody knew who he was and so we kind of left it at that.  But I NEVER took the teaching record out of the area book (which is so unlike me, I always throw unhelpful things away).  At church this week a lady came up to us and asked if we were seeing him.  She said she had the impression that she needed to talk to us about him, and she told us that Brother Kirk went with the missionaries to see him. So we talked to Brother Kirk and he agreed to come with us that night so that we could find him.  He is 11 and he wanted to be baptized but his mom flipped out the DAY of his baptism.  When we visited him, his oldest brother answered the door and was TOTALLY interested too.  He and Brother Kirk became best buds and all of the sudden both of them wanted a church tour and wanted to come to church with us.  He said his mom would be okay with it if he went with Dylan.  AHHHHH!!!  Member missionaries are INCREDIBLE!  I think that was the missing piece to us reuniting with Dylan!!

Miley- This week when we saw Miley we taught about Sabbath Day observance.  In the middle of the lesson she cries out, "I WANT TO BE BAPTIZED SO BAD, I'LL DO ANYTHING TO BE BAPTIZED".  Needless to say we set a date in April (dang it I won't be there) and we talked the rest of the time about the Law of Chastity and The Word of Wisdom, two of Satan's favorite sins.

My time is winding down yet it is going so fast here and I continue to be so busy!

Love you all!

Crazy Week Full of Twists and Turns

Okay people... this week was nuts and I mean REALLY nuts so HOLD ON....

1) Car Accident- I got in my VERY FIRST car accident and it was a p.a.r.t.y.  It wasn't that bad and I know we were blessed.  So we were in the left turning lane and a big black SUV was turning right from the street we were supposed to turn into.  Well she was an idiot and pulled out to turn right in oncoming traffic.  She was T-boned and swung around and hit the back of our car! Only one person was wheeled away on a gurney (and it wasn't me or my comp) and even she seemed like she only went on the gurney because she was so shaken up. 

2)  A new investigator! -  So this week we planned to go see a former investigator and we knock on the door and Amanda comes out.  She told us she wants to learn about Mormons so we go in and start talking to her.  She is amazing!  She lives with less active members (who were not on the ward list- we found them too, and they want to come back to church) and they have been preparing her for the church.  She told me that she had a DREAM about a girl that looks like me.  She said I was dressed in white and I came with angels and I took her hand and started leading her.  The same night we found her. we brought priesthood holders to give her a blessing and the next day we taught her the restoration in the morning and took her on a church tour in the afternoon. It was an amazing experience. She was at church this week along with the less active family.

3) I ate wheat this week accidentally and threw up. BUT this is really really interesting- not only did I throw up after the lesson with Jason- but before I was about to throw up I started thinking about joy and happiness. I wondered if it would be possible to find joy even when you are sick.  So I was hunched over the toilet thinking about joy and right before I threw up I started laughing thinking I was SUCH AN IDIOT for trying to find the good things about getting sick :)  So I guess you can find joy when you are sick too.

4) Jenny- I had the impression to set a date with Jenny, and when we knocked on the door that evening, she was home alone, so we got to talk to her privately.  It was an amazing experience. She wants to be baptized but she is so scared.  We talked a lot about it and set a tentative date that she wants to keep quite for now.  It will be interesting to see if it actually works out, but either way, now she has the option.  I really love her.

5) Jason- we were worried that the Word of Wisdome would prevent Jason from being baptized and GUESS WHAT- he already obeys the entire word of wisdom except for tea!  So he is going to be baptized not this weekend but next! He loves our church and he is super excited to be a member.  I don't think I have ever met anyone so golden in my life.

6) Fireside - This week we had a fireside that the stake coordinated and it was all about missionary work.  We had Jenny and Jason there and they loved it.  At the end, the missionaries sang the medley, Armies of Helaman/Sisters in Zion.  It was really amazing and the Spirit was so strong.  President and his whole family were there.  Definitely a mission highlight for me!

7) Sunday I show up to church and Lurene and Sister Pugeda were there from La Mirada.  Lurene was the first person I met off the plane from Utah and the first baptism I had.  It was SO COOL!  We also had like 4 investigators and church and I was able to share my testimony during sacrament meeting with my companion.  It was fun.  I actually like sharing my testimony.  I hope Lurene gets to go to the temple before I leave.  I want to go with them.

So here is the "Sister Webb #1 (Mandy's #2) revelation" for this week.  I was reading this morning in John when Christ is in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The guards walked up to the Savior and said, "Whom seek ye?".   The guards replied "Jesus" and Jesus responds, "I AM HE".  He had the opportunity to not allow his identity to be recognized.  He could have run from false accusations, He could have avoided crucifixion, He could have walked away and lived to be 95!  But he didn’t - he turned himself in on false charges and accusations. He handed himself over.  He said, "I AM HE".  When we are accused of wrong things, when we are asked to proclaim our religion, when we are asked to stand alone, when others are seeking to destroy us . . . do we have the courage to say, "Yes, you are looking for me".  When our standards are compromised, when we have few places to run, when we don't like God’s timing, when we are afraid, lonely, rejected and so many other things, how do we stand and what do we stand for?  Not only should we stand but we should be willing to face pure rejection and even false accusation to be advocates of Christ. There is no buttering up, beating around the bush, or being nice about some principles of the gospel.  They simply are what they are.  We can choose to take it or leave it.

Anywhoooo- LOVE YOU!! Have a good week!

So happy to see Lurene on Sunday, who showed up to surprise me!  

Letter From Pres. Patterson

Dear Brother and Sister Webb,

Your daughter, Sister Jessica Webb, will complete her mission on the 28th of March, 2017. We have attached her final travel itinerary. In case flights and times change between now and the day of departure, please check your missionary’s travel plans via Internet for updates.

 Sister Webb is a wonderful missionary, and I am so please to have served as her mission president.  She has been dedicated to her missionary purpose to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  She has learned to be led by the Spirit, study the gospel effectively, teach doctrine simply and clearly, bear testimony with power and conviction, and love those around her.  She has learned the importance of being obedient, planning effectively, setting goals, working hard, and relying on the Lord to accomplish the work of salvation.  Your daughter will be greatly missed.

This letter is not intended to signify that your daughter’s missionary experience is over. The Lord not only requires His servants to endure to the end, but also pours out additional blessings upon those who do so.  We have found that missionaries who work hard right up to their departure date have some of their most rewarding experiences and their greatest successes in the last few weeks of their missions. Please encourage your daughter to remain diligent and focused right to the end of her mission.

 I am certain your daughter will continue to share her testimony and strengths to help establish the Church wherever she may go in life. I express my deepest gratitude to you, Brother and Sister Webb, for sending such a fine missionary to the California Long Beach Mission. Sister Patterson and I have enjoyed serving alongside Sister Webb in this sacred calling as a full-time missionary.

Sincerely,

President Brian P. Patterson

Faithful & Competent

My week was awesome!

Missionary Activity- I think the highlight of my week was the youth missionary activity.  This week all the youth were combined and we did a huge missionary activity.  We had Caesar help us by letting us practice teach the restoration. He was my companion and we taught Sister Allen for five minutes. Then we broke everyone off into companionships,  gave them a Book of Mormon and a Pamphlet, and we had them study. We took all the leaders to a room, gave them a character, and took each companionship to a door where they were able to knock and be a teacher to these people.  The youth LOVED it and they did SO GOOD!  It was a huge hit.  After we testified and the Spirit was SO strong. It was an awesome activity!

Primary- In Primary we also got to do sharing time.  I want to be in primary for the rest of my life.  We told stories and talked about how we can be like Jesus.  I told a story about how I saved a man with a bloody nose once... that was a good day :)

MLC- We had Mission Leadership Council this week and I had two favorite trainings. First was a training where President talked about how we cannot be discouraged with less success.  We have to recognize even when we are rejected that the Gospel is ROLLING forth.  He talked about King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and how prophesies always come true.  Even if we aren't large in numbers WE ARE SO MIGHTY!  We literally are God’s Kingdom.

My other favorite was about numbers chasing.  I'm not a numbers chaser but I have never wanted to submit straight 0's.  I want to have good key indicators every week, and he talked about how having that desire ISN'T NUMBERS CHASING.  In fact, in many ways, if good intentions are in mind numbers chasing is a good thing.  I loved that training.  It's like striving to get a good grade in school.  A good grade can many times show what you know, and it's the same with key indicators.  It's not a bad thing to want a billion baptismal dates!  It's actually good and healthy.

President said something this week I would like to share.  He said:

 A missionary can be faithful (obedient) but not competent (effective). We need missionaries who are both faithful and competent, in other words, obedient and effective.

I recently read the following story that provides some context:

Imagine for a moment you are a farmer with acres of golden wheat ready to harvest. You hire two men to help you do the job. The first man goes out to the field and starts up the combine, a machine that has been specifically designed to harvest wheat in the most effective way possible. The second man goes out into the field with a pair of scissors. He plans to first snip each individual stalk down and then sort the grain by hand. Who will accomplish more?

What does that teach us about faithful and competent? Or obedient and effective?

Imagine that the man with scissors is up early snipping away. He diligently works all day and is the last one to leave at night. While he is faithfully participating in the harvest, his ineffective methods ensure that he accomplishes little. He is faithful but not very competent. Meanwhile, the man with the combine harvester goes out to the same field for an hour. Due to the effectiveness of his approach, in an hour of effort he harvests more than his partner does by slaving away all day. He can then take his combine to other fields and double, triple, or even quadruple the amount of grain harvested. He is both faithful and competent.

Some missionaries think they “just have to be spiritual” and work hard and missionary work will just happen. In missionary work, obedience (faithful) and skills (effective) are both required if we want to harvest many souls. That is why obedience does not necessarily translate into success in regards to helping people be baptized. Helping people progress requires some skill and effective teaching methods. An obedient missionary, accompanied with faith, having developed necessary missionary skills, is most effective. A missionary who has developed skills that is disobedient, weakens his/her effectiveness. The Lord needs missionaries who are both faithful and competent.

This is SO TRUE FOR LIFE!! We can be do so many things and not do them effectively.  We have to be effective!  I love you all!  

My Dad

It's been a busy week full of many miracles!  Here are a few of them:

1- Anaheim phone call- The Anaheim Sisters called us and told us they have someone who wants to be baptized on March 4th who lives in our ward! I'm excited to see what he is like. It's interesting because I've been praying for the opportunity to baptize one more investigator before I leave.  We'll see!
2- Miley- Miley came to church again this Sunday with Mike and she requested her first priesthood blessing.  She is going through hard things right now. She witnessed a murder and was the only one on the scene, so she was in court all week testifying.  It was really hard for her.  On Sunday we brought her some chocolate from the Relief Society President which brightened her day, and she just told us how much she believes in and loves our church. She talked about how she wants to be baptized, and how she knows it's true.  It was an incredible experience.  She is learning about repentance and it's an awesome thing to witness! 
3- John- The Spanish Elders called us and said they met someone on the street who wanted to learn more.  We went with them the next day and it was a man who I had done service with at an Old Folks Home. We taught him the restoration and he was STOKED.  He loved all of it.  The next day we did service with him and he was preaching to all the service people about how amazing we were and how God was with us and our message- SO COOL!
4- Stephanie- Stephanie is 17 and feels the spirit really strong. We have met with her a few times and she loves the gospel message. She wants to be baptized in March (but she needs to come to church). Her mom is not supportive of this. Stephanie told us that she is amazed how the Book of Mormon talks about the proper way to be baptized. There is a ton of confusion in the world on how someone should be baptized, but the Book of Mormon clears that right up.  
5- Jenny- We had an awesome lesson with Jenny where we talked about her barriers. Her husband was Mormon, but is now disaffected and has been introducing her to a lot of anti-Mormon material.  We have been able to visit with her and answer many of her questions and she has great faith which makes all the difference.  She came to church on Sunday by herself and stayed through the entire block.  We really love her!

So recently I have been thinking about my Dad.  I don't know how well you know my Dad but he is probably the most incredible man EVER. He is the epitome of the parent I want to be.  I remember walking into my Dad's room late every night before he went to bed and seeing him with a pencil in his hand reading his scriptures. I never said anything about it to him.  I never talked about it with him.  I also know that every night and morning he rolls out of bed to say a kneeling prayer right next to his bed.  Not ONLY that but he NEVER EVER EVER has skipped one Sunday of church for sleep or a football game or anything. He supports my mom in her callings, and he magnifies EVERY calling he has ever had, even when he has several at a time.  Every morning at 6am I would hear his alarm go off and I knew he was up.  He never slept in unless he was sick, which also hardly ever happened.  My dad isn't lazy.  His version of lazy is watching a movie while folding all of our laundry.  He is always serving those around him, he is constantly thinking of new ideas or new things to improve our lives.  He shows my Mom he loves here EVERY day, every Valentines day, every birthday, every wedding anniversary... He lets us do his hair, and was a good sport when we purposefully bugged him in his ritual Sunday nap. He will probably read this and think I'm crazy, but I love my Dad.  I have yet to find or yet to know a guy my age who matches the standard my Dad has set.  I want to be like my Dad.  I know if my Dad was on a mission right now, he would be  the most incredible missionary here.  SO I LOVE YOU DAD! Thanks for your example. 

Just ACT and TRY

This week was SO MUCH FUN!  I LOVE being companions with Sister Allen.  She is incredible.  She is so sweet and we laugh all the time. She is super optimistic too.  I feel like I'm learning so much from her.  I love that about a mission!  You are always learning.

This week I was cool! I had 2 neat experiences:

1) We were planning and I had the distinct impression to go to area 11 in the area book, start at the back, and go to the first person with an M at the beginning of their name.  Well... it was Mike and Miley.  We taught them a TON when Sister Watson was here and honestly I didn't want to go back but we did.  It turned out that Mike had had a stroke a few days prior.  Since his stroke, he has started to change. He quit smoking, He wants to come to church and change his life.  It was really cool!  

2) We saw SO MANY people this week who talked about and struggle with drugs.  I had NO IDEA that drugs were so prevalent.  Sometimes it seems like it's the exception to the rule to find someone who has never abused prescription drugs or used illegal drugs.  I understand that it can numb the pain, but it is a very short fix and leads to addictions that are heartbreaking and destroy lives!  We are helping many people give up drugs and it's super easy because nobody actually wants to do drugs, believe it or not.  The drugs seem to control them and tell them what to do.  They want to be truly happy, and Satan tries to convince people that drugs do make you happy!  Many soon learn that this is NOT happiness!

I would really like to participate in one final baptism before I go home. I know there has to be at least one person in Westminster who is ready to accept the gospel and be baptized (I would love it if there were 50 people).  It's interesting though because the longer I have been out, the less I realize I know!  I only know that I need to rely on God and pray that He will allow me to again "sit back and watch the game".  I've learned that as I open my mouth and talk, text people, set up appointments, help them get to church and firesides and everything else... miracles can happen!  I love my Father in Heaven and through the Spirit I know I'm doing His will... and I guess if that is all I can do, I'll do it.

Love, Sister Webb

Sister Oikle and me

California is getting SO MUCH RAIN!  We are getting drenched and driving in rivers of water!  We need it though!

A sunny day in between all of the rain in Westminster

This is about as close as we can get to the beach/ocean . . . 

Sister Allen and me!  My very last companion on my mission and she's WONDERFUL!!

Late Christmas Surprise & New Comp!

Okay so here's the dealeo.... I don't have a ton of time but I'll try to write good stuff. 

1) I didn't know how to get into our mailbox but we got a note on our door saying our mailbox was full and we needed to get our mail, so we went to the office and got it!  I GOT SO MANY CHRISTMAS LETTERS AND CARDS hahahaha.  Thank you SO MUCH!   They were beautiful.  I'm sorry I didn't get them sooner. 

2) We had two exchanges this week, I got to go with Sister Dimmick on one and Sister Holt on another.  Both of them are wonderful missionaries and they are doing so good...

3) Jenny- So this week with Jenny we taught her with her husband present.  Sister Bowers from the ward came with us and bore a powerful testimony.  Jenny is doing well, but her husband is a huge roadblock.  He doesn't care or believe in religion or God.  He wasn't argumentative, thankfully, but he very clearly stated his opinions and questioned his wife's beliefs in the lesson. Sister Bowers saved the lesson though! I didn't know what to do but she totally bore powerful testimony and the Spirit filled the room and Jenny knew what she felt.  It was awesome! bogus. 

4) Jayleen- She is doing so well. She is excited to continue to learn about the church. Her mom isn't fully on board but allowed her to listen to us and make her own decisions.  We may run into some problems when her baptisms rolls around, but we'll have faith and take it as it comes! 

5) Stephani- This week we met Stephanie. We contacted her on the street and she seemed interested to learn about the gospel.  She told us to come back and when we went back she was TOTALLY on board. She loved everything we told her and had awesome insights.  She set a date to be baptized too so hopefully that works out. 

Sister Oickle left this week and my new companion is Sister Allen- Emily Allen to be exact- which is the name of one of my favorite aunts!  I'm going to be an STL until the end of my mission but I'm excited for a new transfer to start and I'm excited for my area!  Please pray for our investigators!  I'm still praying for one more baptism before I go home and all of your prayers would be so appreciated!

Love you all!

Sister Webb

Choose Happiness

Well, my companion has to go home this week or next.  She is really sick and I feel so bad for her.  Somehow we still had some really AMAZING experiences!  

1) Jayleen-  We went to an investigator's home on Monday, only to find that he wasn't actually interested, but his cousin was.  So we ended up teaching her, and holy cow!  I have never in my life met a 15 year old with so many hard times. When her cousin got out of prision, he had changed and become an important part of her life again.  He was was picking her up from school one day, and his old "friends" came and stabbed him right in front of her!  Then her grandmother, who raised her, died two months later. She is now living at her aunt's house and is the only one who believes in God. Her friend in aneheim is Mormon, and took her to church on a day when they taught the plan of salvation. It touched her heart, and she is changing- she wants to come to our church!  She wants to be baptized, and she is finding happiness in the good news of the Gospel! It's incredible and I feel so blessed to be one of her missionaires. 

2) Night with Members- Tuesday was hard.  My companion was (and still is) sick, so on Tuesday night I dropped her off at a member's home and went out to work with members for the evening. It was a ton of fun.  We found new investigators and we taught many people. The member lady I went with talked the entire time about marriage and that was a bit awkward for me, but other than that it was pretty fun!  My companion got sleep and we got the work done! 

3)The Dominguez Family- This is a less active family that wants to come back to church.  We have troubles meeting with them, but we did this week, and we talked for a long time about how to get them to come to church. In the end we decided on WAFFLES!! :) So we went to their home early on Sunday morning and made waffles for the family.  THEY CAME TO CHURCH and had members fellowship them and their two kiddos the entire three hours!  It was such a blessing. 

4) Bernice- We had a neat lesson with Bernice this week.  We decided we were going to teach her HOW to read the Book of Mormon, come to church, and pray.  So our lesson was filled with many personal experiences of how we have come to do these things. At the end, I decided I would close the lesson by saying a personal prayer out loud, asking for a witness that our church is true.  Sure enough, I felt the Spirit so strong in the prayer when I asked if Joseph Smith was a prophet, and if this was God's church.  It was a neat experience as I prayed for my own life and for members of my family out loud with her.  She and I were both visibly touched by the experience. 

5) Luna new year- Saturday I went on exchanges with SISTER HICKS (I trained her) and it. was. so. much. fun. I loved all of it.  We got to talk about people we both worked with.  We found two new investigators, and it was LUNA NEW YEAR! It's like Chinese new year but for Vietnamese people.  A lady gave us one of the red envelopes with money in it and we got to drive past the Buddhist temple on the way to an appointment so we were able to see all of them celebrating. IT WAS SO COOL!

6) Worldwide Missionary Devotional!- We went to a big meeting where they changed the schedule for missionaries and numbers we report on a weekly basis.  It was SO EXCITING!  I already love the change. It has been a blessing to us.  

SOMETHING I AM LEARNING and continue to learn on my mission is that happiness is totally a choice.  There are going to be times when nothing seems right, and when everything is rough.  There are going to be times when God will test you, life will test you, and Satan will test you.  There may even be times when you test yourself! BUT happiness is still a choice.  You really can pray in hard times and receive happiness, comfort, and peace despite undesirable circumstances.  It is PART OF His grace,  It is part of His atonement.  It's healthy to cry a little, and it's healthy to be sad, but it's so much more liberating to be happy.  So may we all "fall to our knees" this week when it seems happiness is not an option and UTILIZE THE ATONEMENT in a way we may normally take it for granted. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Love, Jess

Sister Hicks and I on exchanges!  Great day!!

Not counting down . . . sorry . . . don't wanna

SO THIS WEEK WAS HARD and AMAZING all at the same time. 

I'll start with the miracles:  First, we got to see Jenny this week.  When we went to the Elder Holland training I prayed and asked God to reveal to me what I need to share with Jenny to help her become more converted. He told me to relate the entire second half of Elder Holland's training.  He taught about the exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus. The idea behind it is that Jesus was trying to communicate the idea that Nicodemus needed to be baptized and Nicodemus didn't get it.  He had us identify all the reasons why Nicodemus didn't understand, and compared that to the people who don't accept the gospel in Southern California.  He then told us that we need to overcome our barriers, and that God does care for the one. We used the same analogy with Jenny but with the Woman of Samaria at the well.  The woman didn't understand the concept of living water.  With Jenny we drew it out and tried to figure out the Samaritan woman's barriers.  Jenny understood, but what stood out to her the most was that Christ cares for and teaches the one. Whether they are an adulteress, outcast, Samaritan woman, or if they are someone famous who consistently sins and won't give his heart to God. HE STILL TEACHES THEM, HE STILL LOVES THEM!  No sinner, no ANYBODY is beneath Him. Jenny started to cry and told us many of her barriers to baptism.  She told us that the story and concept was exactly what she needed to hear that day.  I LOVE HER!!!!

Second, we were street contacting after one of my companion's doctor appointments (she's quite sick with back pain and leg pain).  There was a boy ahead of us.  We had planned to find a new investigator that day. My companion wanted to be diligent (bless her heart) so despite what the doctor said, she started running to this boy.  She contacted him and we began to share our message. We set a return appointment for the next day, and went to meet him. He told us his life story.  I have never in all my life met ANYONE who has gone through as much as he has gone through. His story is too personal so I won't share, but he is on 19, and most adults never have to experience what he has already gone through. God allowed us to share a message with him that touched his heart. He is exited to learn more, and I'm excited to teach him. 

Third, it was Saturday, and we hadn't yet achieved many of the goals we had set for the week. It wasn't totally our fault, with my companion not feeling well.  We had many doctor appointments and we also had a training this week.  Friday night we really sought revelation as we planned for the next day and we had members coming with us for part of the day.  So we set out to work, after another doctor appointment, and ended up finding a Syrian family who moved here two weeks ago and is struggling with many things.  They were excited for the gospel!  We also met a Latino lady who started crying in the doorway because we shared what she needed to hear.

We had Mission Leader Conference (MLC) this week, and that was fun.  President Patterson trained us mostly on how to be good leaders, which was really helpful.  I feel like I'm still learning so much about how to lead.

I am so grateful for my Savior.  It seems as though when you can do the least, or when you are struggling to do what you use to know how to do, he helps you over-achieve and stretch beyond your bounds.  I have been praying hard this week for many things and because of His love and grace, I have received answers beyond answers to many prayers I didn't even know He could answer.  I love Him so much, I wish I could express through a letter what I feel, but I know He is real and I know He is there.  

I'm A Great-Grandma! & ELDER HOLLAND!

so.... ELDER HOLLAND came to our mission on Saturday!!  I got to shake his hand, and we also had Elder Halstrom of the Seventy here.  They both spoke to us and it was AMAZING!  Elder Holland talked about how personal conversion is so important in the mission. I agree with this and was so inspired to have him with us!

It's my companion's birthday today and we have some BIG plans, so I don't have long to write, but I wanted to let you all know I'M A GREAT-GRANDMA!  So I trained Sister Hicks . . . she trained Sister Saunders . . .who is now training Sister Parkin!  (see pic below)  That's how geneology works on a mission and it's so cool to see my posterity!!! hahahaha

Also, I thought about Amanda yesterday and wished SO MUCH I could've been to her farewell.  I hear it was awesome and that she's READY TO SERVE!  I can't wait to hear from her every week on her mission!

Love you all!  
Jes

Sister Webb who trained Sister Hicks who trained Sister Saunders who is training Sister Parkin

Here are a few of the Allen gang at Amanda's farewell:)

Happy Birthday!