Jennifer & Jacob

Dear Family,

I'm glad to hear that mom had a blast in Arizona. All the food she
described sounds amazing. It must have been so fun to visit with all
our friends and family in Arizona. Hopefully the rest of you also had
an enjoyable holiday weekend.

Mom, your comment that "that the magnitude of the blessing is
dependent on the magnitude of the purity of our motivation" really
struck me. I hadn't considered that before, but I think you are right.
I will have to keep pondering that.

This week, a miracle happened. A younger couple, Jennifer and Jacob,
moved into the branch! Jennifer joined the church when she was 21 but
hasn't been for a while. Her husband Jacob isn't a member but wants to
take the lessons and support his wife in coming to church! Isn't that
great! They are an amazing couple. Jennifer is so friendly. She had us
over for lunch on Tuesday, she went to the Relief Society activity on
Wednesday, and they both came to church on Sunday. Jennifer even made
hundreds of cupcakes that she gave to all her neighbors for valentines
day. She is the sweetest! Then, on Sunday night, we had a lesson with
her and Jacob in our Branch President's home. To our surprise, Jacob
doesn't really know if there is a God. So instead of teaching all of
lesson one, we just stuck with the first principle: that God is our
loving Heavenly Father. We really felt the spirit and were able to
testify a lot about Heavenly Father's love and about the power of
prayer. We hope to get to know Jacob a little better and help him gain
that faith that Heavenly Father is there, that He loves Him, and that
everything can be made right through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We
really feel that he has been prepared to receive the gospel.

I also heard that Krista, an investigator that I worked with in
Ralston, got baptized on Saturday. Here is what President Kunz
reported about it:

"Krista was baptized Saturday, she is a young adult finishing up
college in Lincoln but she is from Omaha. Her boyfriend (Travis)
introduced her to the Church and she has studied with missionaries
off-and-on for over a year. She was concerned about her family's
reaction to her joining the Church, but on Saturday and Sunday, many
of her family came to support her baptism and confirmation. She bore
her testimony yesterday in Sacrament meeting expressing how further
knowledge of the gospel makes her feel more complete. Krista said
that the missionaries answered all her questions and that the Spirit
has bore witness to her that it was all true. Krista's life has been
changed forever, she will never be the same, she will grow in
testimony and strength and will receive all the covenants available,
and as of now, because of her baptism has the potential to reach the
Celestial Kingdom - what a marvelous miracle!"

I'm so happy for Krista! She is an amazing person and I know her
decision to join the church will be such a blessing for her and
especially for her family. A year from now, she and Travis can be
sealed in the temple!

I have one more bit of really exciting news. Next Monday, L. Tom Perry
is coming for a mission conference! I am so excited. We will get to
hear from an apostle of the Lord about how we, as missionaries in the
Nebraska Omaha Mission, can be better! I'll be sure to give a full
report next Tuesday.

By the way, Nebraska has the most beautiful skies. I was entranced by
the sunset on Sunday night. The sun was like a warm, orange flame just
below the hills. It sent a pillar of yellow up into the blue sky that
was streaked with orangeish-pink clouds. I loved how the colors came
together. To me, it was a reminder from Heavenly Father that He loves
me because He made this beautiful earth for me to enjoy. It was
gorgeous.

I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Sister Bailey Mortensen