Tears of Gratitude

I never knew what to expect. I have cried many tears this week as I've reflected over the last 18 months serving the Lord. The best thing is, is that these tears haven't been tears of regret nor tears of what might have been, but rather they are tears of joy, love, and true gratitude to my Heavenly Father for having given me this privilege to represent His Son.

This last 3 weeks I have felt an overwhelming feeling of peace from the Holy Ghost that my missionary service has been acceptable to my Heavenly Father. Those tears are tears I am not ashamed to shed. The people I have met here have their names engraved on my heart forever. They each have a very unique story and I love each one of them more than I can explain. As Miguel said at the fireside last week, if I never see him again in this life, we will meet in the spirit world and we will rejoice to see each other.

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Christ upon the earth today, with all the authority necessary to perform the saving ordinances to make it back to live with our Heavenly Father. We have a living prophet of God on the earth who receives revelation to guide us in this crazy world. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It has been the key to conversion for everybody I've taught. I have seen huge changes in the lives of the people here as they have "come unto Christ and be[en] perfected in him" (Moroni 10:32). Something that is not true cannot change lives like I have seen happen. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and I know that true joy comes through following His Son Jesus Christ. The world can fall down around us but we can have joy through Him. I am His representative; I have come to know Him and feel what He feels for my brothers and sisters in New Jersey. I love them and I love Him.

Thank you once again for your faithful prayers on my behalf. I hope these emails have strengthened you in whatever situations you have been going through. I love you and will see you soon.

Love,

Hermana Jackson

We're gonna drop them like a FLOJO!

Haha, don't ask about the title...it was just something Hna Cornish and I came up with this week and it made me laugh.

So we have TRANSFERS tomorrow...last one! Hna Cornish is packing up and heading out and I will be getting a new companion to finish off my mission. I LOVE change because it keeps me energized so don't even fret, no worries of trunkiness here. :) My new companion is bound to be another repeated companion because I've already been with all the Spanish sisters except 1, who isn't transferring, and the one new sister coming in, who is being trained by my hija (Sister Evens)! So yes, I am officially a "grandma" now.

I can't believe I'm on my last transfer. It's...I don't really know how to explain it...but whatever, I'll write my thoughts in my journal and figure it out. This transfer is going to be a transfer of MILAGROS! I'll just ignore that the other day when we were knocking doors someone essentially told us we were going to Hell! He was trying to "save" us and preach to us all his doctrine and we just stood quiet and stared at him until he was done...then we said, "Cool. Do you know of anybody that speaks Spanish around here?" Haha, it was so funny! I love being a missionary.

Claudia and Larry came to church yesterday! Claudia is a 16-yr-old girl from Oaxaca, Mexico we've been teaching who has a baptismal date for Nov 14. Her uncle is a member in New Brunswick and gave us her name as a referral. She is so amazing and has come through some huge trials in her life to get her to where she is today. But all the YW at church loved her and invited her to mutual and everything. Yay! As for Larry, we didn't end up getting to meet with him all week because he couldn't get the webcam hooked up but I talked to him a couple times over the phone about his reading assignments and everything. The people in the ward LOVE Larry! Yesterday at ward correlation meeting, they were telling us about how wonderful his comments were in gospel essentials class and how much he seems to just get everything. I know he will get baptized so soon, it's just a matter of when. He reminds me of Miguel in Morristown and Maria DV in Paterson...haha, I get really stubborn investigators!...probably because I'm just as stubborn back to them. Haha, love it.

My testimony of the Plan of Salvation was strengthened a lot this week and the importance of the temple in our lives. Last Tuesday, Borther Weller, a man in the ward who had been battling with cancer, passed away. I never got to meet him because he had been up in the hospital in Morristown for the last couple fo months, but I frequently heard updates on him from members of the ward and there were a lot of prayers offerred in his behalf. On Friday, we went over to talk with Sister Weller and help her pack up her things to move into a retirement home this week and then on Saturday morning attended the funeral. I got to thinking a lot about God's plan for each one of us as His children. It is a plan of love, of mercy, of justice. It is a perfect plan that allows each one of us to use our agency to choose whether to follow Him or no. But then once we choose, it's not done. We must keep choosing day after day, to follow Him -- that includes the big decisions and the little ones. We choose to keep the commandments each day, even the little things, which reaps the blessing of being able to choose to enter the temple and make covenants with our Heavenly Father, which we must choose to keep. If it weren't for the temples, the plan would be pointless. So He hasn't just created this plan for us, but He has put in our paths all the necessary steps we need to take to be able to follow it. But we must choose, every day!

That's all I have to say for today. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to write less this transfer to save some stories for when I get home but I'm kind of using my emails as a journal so...we'll see. "THANKS. GIVING. is coming." yep, be ready. I miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

Ready, Set, GET ACTIVE!

Hey, how are you? This week, I actually have somewhat an idea to the answer to that question because I got a letter from Malcolm, Chris, Dad, Mom, and Nana in the last week or so. I loved every one of them, so THANK YOU so much for writing. It strengthens me to hear each one of you and how the Lord is blessing your lives. I can't tell if I got lots of letters because of my accident or because everyone figures that if they don't write me now, they will just wait till I get home or what :) but either way they are appreciated. :)

Wasn't General Conference so good? The 2 main scriptures that kept sticking out to me like crazy were Alma 41:10 and 2 Nefi 2:27. And the 3 main themes for me (which are all inter-related): agency, the Holy Ghost, and following the prophet. So so good. We watched the first session on the internet at a recent convert's house, Melissa, with her 3 daughters. So it was in Spanish and there were lots of distractions so while I understood it all, I wasn't able to focus a ton...I'll have to read that one. But let me just tell you that the Saturday afternoon session was just for me! I loved the talk by Elder Richard G. Scott all about developing true character. It comes down to our agency as well. He reminded us that Satan's destiny is fixed; we already know that in the end, he will LOSE. So now we have to exercise our agency to choose to follow Jesus Christ, who will WIN, develop faith in Him, and thus our character will form. He said that character is an evidence of how well we are using our time on earth. The better we use our time, the more our character is fortified, and then we can exercise faith -> repentance -> obedience -> self-less service.

Everything we do is a choice. Jesus Christ was not forced to do anything in his life, rather he chose to submit his will to the will of the Father because he knew of the eternal consequences it would have for all mankind (Elder Robert D. Hales). I know that as we choose to submit our will to the will of the Father, and remember the eternal perspective, we will be blessed with the happiness that was intended for us. His plan is a plan of happiness, freedom, agency, and salvation. As we choose to follow him, that is what we get. Satan's plan is a plan of misery, bondage, destruction, and "endless wo," which we will receive if we choose to follow it. "Wickedness never was happiness."

Basically everybody here watches conference at their house but we decided that we wanted them to be able to watch it with our investigators at the church at least for the Sunday morning session. So we invited all the little Hispanic members to come and to bring some food so we could have a potluck between sessions. It was a great success. One of the recent converts, Christian, was telling us how he was just going to watch it at his house but he was so glad we invited them all to the church because he was able to listen to the power President Monson's talk without any distractions. It was his first time watching conference, along with many other members, and they all truly felt the power of the words of a prophet of God.

We have a baptism coming up this Sunday, Jorge. He is from Peru and he is so awesome! He's been pretty easy to teach...already follows basically all the commandments...he's just been really prepared by the Lord. I'll send pictures next week.

Thank you again for all the prayers offerred in my behalf. My recovery is still going really well. I'm not using the crutch anymore and actually today I put on a normal shoe! We're being blessed lots. The work is still going forward. I miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

"No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing..."

Hey everybody! How's it going? I am doing so well out here in my new area. North Branch is treating me well and the members here are amazing.

Heavenly Father is blessing me to heal a lot faster than I think any normal person should heal. I took the sling off Saturday night and determined to leave it off, no matter how much it hurts, because I was losing muscle use in my arm. It's amazing how quickly the muscle has deteriorated in my arm. Simply reaching up to change the CD in the car is painful I haven't exercised certain muscles there in just one short week. It would be so easy to just put it back in the sling and leave it there but that will only hurt me more. I thought a lot about how it's like the gospel. Sometimes, it's so easy to want to just realx in our little sling and coast on the weight of others. But if we want to really help ourselves and receive the help we need from the Lord, we have to go out of our comfort zone, leave our sling, and stretch ourselves. (see Alma 36:20-21) Sometimes it is really painful, and we may want to just give up, but our weaknesses can be made strengths in the Lord (Ether 12:27). Personal revelation in particular sticks out to me. It is hard to really learn how to receive and follow personal revelation and before my mission, I mostly just relied on the revelation others would receive for me and call it good. But that only gets us so far and we are not becoming as strong as we could that way. As we exercise faith in the Lord, and a patient, consistent effort, He blesses us with strength and revelation.

We had a mission activity last Monday out by the coast somewhere. It was a nice hike through the woods or something. I obviously couldn't participate much in the hike so Sister Child sat with me for a could hours in the shade and we just talked while we waited for everyone to get back. I was grateful to her for doing that. She is the best. (see the pictures) So yeah, all the missionaries got to see me hobbling around and the sisters were asking questions like crazy. And then when we did our shopping at Walmart, I got to drive the little electric cart all around the store! How cool is that?! Too bad I didn't get a picture. :)

So this week, we were really wondering how we were going to get new investigators because we can't go out knocking too much. But our prayers were answered greatly. We got more new investigators this week than I have almost ever gotten before in my mission! Crazy blessings. The English sisters ended up finding lots of Spanish people as they were out knocking and would come home every night with several names for us to go by for the next day. So good. So we were kept busy for the most part, which I'm sure also helped me to feel better. People keep telling me that I should put my foot up and rest for 6 weeks...Are you kidding me?!? I don't have 6 weeks to just relax! :) But don't worry, I'm good.

And we had a fireside last night up in Morristown for recent converts/less actives/investigators, which was so good. I got to see the members from Morristown branch! And the RS broadcast on Saturday night was amazing, as well. I hope that you (the girls) got a chance to watch it. There was definitely a common theme of love and how important it is to love everybody and not judge them. Love it.

Well, that's all for this week. I hope you enjoy the pictures. The one of me on the stretcher was when I got wheeled into the ER with all the EMT's. They thought I was crazy for wanting a picture but I insisted that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. :) Know that I'm doing well and continuing to do the Lord's work, despite what tries to stop me. This work is too important for anything to stop it and I love that I'm a part of it. I miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

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They say you should go home on a stretcher...

Craziest week of my mission, hands down! This might be long but you MUST read on...I promise it will be worth it (at least up to Thursday :) I will go in chronological order:

Tuesday: TRANSFERS! I was SO SAD to leave Paterson, especially saying goodbye to Maria DV was the worst but I know we are going to keep in touch forever so it's all good. Then we got to transfer conference and realized only one other Spanish companionship was changing...which puts me with Hna Cornish again! Crazy, huh? This is our 3rd time being comps...MTC, then the trio in Paterson, and now here in NORTH BRANCH. It is at the old southern border of the mission, before we got Cherry Hill added in. Talk about culture chock from Paterson! People have lawns here! :) We are in an English ward down here with a couple of rows of Spanish members we work with that wear headsets during sacrament meeting. But the Spanish program is growing a lot so we're excited to see what we can do. Very Spanglish environment though. I translated 2 talks during sacrament meeting, which was exciting. We live with 2 other sisters, Sis Neves and Tolman. And Sis Neves is from Sao Paolo and cooks for us every day. :)

Wednesday: Ellis Island...and then there was an accident on the way back so it took us close to 4 hours to get home (usually it's only 1) and got 1 lesson in.

Thursday: Walking day! The weather was gorgeous...even a little drizzly, which was nice so I had 0 fear of passing out...until at about 7:45 pm when we got hit by a car! Can you believe it? Here's what went down...We were walking across the street (in a crosswalk) when a car was making an unprotected left turn onto our street and I guess he didn't see us. Hna Cornish yelled, "Sister, look out!" and next thing I know, I'm flipping in the air or something from the impact and landed on my ankle/side of my foot. Basically head on the car hit me but Hna Cornish only got hit by the front corner of the car. So anyway, I couldn't get up, the guy stopped and called 911 and soon enough the street was closed off and there were police and ambulance and lights and everything. I could move my right foot or my left shoulder (don't ask why...I'm confused as to how I fell). They got me on a stretcher, put me in the back of the ambulance and drove me to the hospital. Talk about pain shooting through my body! Hna Cornish called President Bahr but he wasn't answering so she left him a message saying, "Hey, can you call us? Thanks." Haha. Don't worry, we took pictures of me with the EMT's (but I forgot my camera cord today...sorry) and I was smiling and joking around with them, trying to ignore the pain. We got ahold of President and Sister Bahr and they came down to our area right away and stayed with us in the ER until 1:00am. I got x-rays and everything and discovered that I have a fractured foot and possibly a fractured shoulder (the x-rays weren't too good for the shoulder). And a huge bruise on my hip from where the car hit me. Yeah, so that's the story. So now I have a sling on my left arm, a huge bandage on my right foot, and a crutch under my right arm...I feel like Tiny Tim. :) They tried getting me to use 2 crutches in the ER but my shoulder was killing me and I was in so much pain that I started shaking really bad and almost threw up/passed out so President Bahr put a stop to that. :)

Friday: We were in pain most of the day. Hna Cornish got a bruised tailbone and I was trying to figure out how to deal with life. :) Luckily Sister Tolman is a hair stylist so she did my hair for me since I can't reach up my arm. We got a couple lessons in with me hobbling around...I'm stubborn, I know.

Saturday: Went to the Manhattan Temple! We had this trip planned for a while because Matilde (a convert from Paterson last year) was getting her endowments and I was not about to let the fact that I got hit by a car get in my way! We actually got all the way there without getting lost at all and we were early for once! Changing trains/subways 3 times was exciting. So my right heel has touched the ground of all the NY subway system...and NYC is so fast-paced! But the temple was wonderful. I saw my old trainer there, Hna Bushman, and she freaked out when she saw me come hobbling into the temple like I was. Haha. I also saw my friend Aubrey from BYU because there was this huge YSA conference going on this weekend! So good. And I came home so TIRED!

Sunday: What a way to meet everybody! I stood up at the pulpit translating for some talks, and then Bishop Stone got up to introduce me while I was still up there (he hadn't met me yet) and we got to tell the whole ward what happened. Yep, good stuff. I played the piano in the Spanish sunday school...using my left foot on the pedal and not really moving my left hand at all. It was fun. And hey, mom and dad, I was talking to this woman before church who had lived in Bakersfield a long time ago. She asked who my parents were and turns out she lived in the apartments back in the early 80's when Anthony was a baby and had dinner with you guys all the time...and her uncle baptized you, Dad! Do you remember Linda Low? I showed her pictures of you all now and it was fun updating her on our family.

Ok, there you go. Sorry it was so long and not that spiritual but it is what it is. I know that my Heavenly Father protected me this week because my injuries weren't nearly as bad as they could have been. Thank you for your prayers for me. I'm trying to keep going out and doing the work the best I can...though door knocking isn't quite an option right now. :) Hna Socorro told me at the temple on Saturday that Satan knew I was planning on going out of my mission on a high and he tried throwing this in my way to stop me...but it won't! She said, "What Satan didn't know is that you are stronger than him." So the work continues. I love it everyday.

I miss you mucho but I love you mas,

Hermana Jackson

QUE BONITO BAUTISMO!

HoLa!!! How's everything going back in the real world? So, surprise, we had a baptism yesterday! I didn't tell you about it last week because things were a little up in the air until last minute. But Minerva Lugo got baptized and her son baptized her! It was so beautiful. We saw her on Friday night and she looked so different than before. She had such a light that was just radiating from her! And then she had her interview and now she's a baptized member of the church! How cool is that? At her baptism, she was crying and when she came up out of the water, she was really crying and she and her son embraced in the font forever. Everyone had tears in their eyes. I loved it.

In other news, I guess my time in Paterson has come to an end...again...but for real this time. :) We got the transfer call this morning and I am heading out tomorrow afternoon to...who knows where? I guess Heavenly Father answered my prayers kind of because I told him that either I get transferred now or I stay in Paterson until the end of my mission because I didn't really want to go somewhere new for just 1 transfer. So I'm going. But can I just tell you how much I LOVE Paterson?!?! This place has become so much a part of me. The members here treat me like one of their own. Last night we had dinner over at the familia Soto's and they were talking to me about the difference they saw in me from my first 2 transfers here to coming back this summer. We used to study Spanish with them once a week at the beginning of my mission and I was just pretty quiet and didn't say much (mostly because I didn't understand them) and then they said I came back and I had completely blossomed. I was the "chispa" this area needed. Haha. I'm going to miss the people here so much. It was hard enough saying goodbye to them the first time! But at the same time, I am REALLY excited to meet new people and see what else Heavenly Father has in store for me on my mission. It is going to be one crazy last couple of months!

This weekend was the Dominican equivalent of their independence day so there were Dominican flags all over the place! On the hoods of cars, draped over people, hanging from telephone wires. Haha, it was the same a couple of weeks ago for Puerto Rico's festival...and a couple weeks before that for Peru. Mexico's festival is coming up and hna Schleske wanted to get a mexican flag and put it on the hood of our car. Too bad I won't still be here!

Ok, so we have a ton to do today so I'm going to jet. We've got to do some ghettobump shopping, take some pictures, go to a zone lunch, and visit lots of members. I hope everyone is doing well and is happy. True joy in life comes from living in righteousness, not from our circumstances. 2 Nephi 9:18. i miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

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What did we NOT do this week?

Labor Day totally threw me off yesterday...I don't even remember what happened last week! hmm...ok, here we go...

Found a dead mouse in our apartment one night, contacted a the city fair, painted Hna Socorro's living room, passed out, good lessons, good finding, Ellis Island...

On Sunday, we had 6 investigators at church!! It was crazy good and testimony meeting was one of the best ever. Loved it. Martin came and he is still so excited a preparing for baptism. I love that man. When we went over to see him last week, he told us that he had had some trouble understanding what was going on in the Book of Mormon so, rather than give up like most other people would do, he decided to draw out what was going on! He showed us these huge, pro-style drawings of Lehi and his family with all their names and then the boat and them leaving Jerusalem with the corresponding scriptures written out beneath. He had about 3 or 4 drawings he had done. How cool is that? The Book of Mormon is so important and I am so glad he found a way to make it speak to him.

Rafael and Francisca came to church too. I don't know if I've told you about them but they are this older Dominican couple (not married, obviously) who are taking lessons from the JW's at the same time as us. He spoke a lot with missionaries in the DR and really liked it so they are progressing pretty well. They are getting closer and closer to realizing that while other people may teach good things to help them be better people, this is the doctrine of eternity! Every time someone bore their testimony about the Book of Mormon in church, Francisca just clutched her book closer and closer to her. I have wanted to see one of my investigators get married for basically my whole mission so maybe this will be the one!

We had a walking day on Thursday and it was REALLY hot (I think it was our last big heat wave for the year...due to that hurricane) so we went walking down to Lucina's, about 45 minutes walk away and by the time we got there I was passed out. That was exciting. Haha, but I'm good, don't worry. What else is new, right?

Yesterday was a great p-day. We hiked Garret Mountain with Hna Socorro...it was the same hike we did together last year on Labor Day...my first p-day in the field! But now when I looked out over Paterson, I recognized all the buildings as if I were looking out over Provo. It was really neat, and great weather. And last night for finding time we drove past downtown and saw a huge circus tent set up and a fair going on. It was packed with people so we decided to go and make some contacts and get some potential new investigators. It worked! We found some pretty cool people...and that's not even to mention our Mexico bracelets we got...and free ice cream...and saw several members/inactives. Very productive. I'll put some pictures.

So, it was a really great week. We had some very powerful, spirit-led lessons and spirit-led finding. I love that. I think that often as missionaries we take for granted just how much we have the spirit with us every day. I know it is a great blessing and it can truly guide our lives if we let it. Thank you so much for the packages I've gotten recently! Mom, the candy bar was exactly what I needed. And Chris, Megan, Michael, and Cari, I LOVED the pictures of everybody. I have them in my scriptures to show off to people. They are adorable. And my comp loves the little glowworm thing. :)

I am so grateful to be a missionary. I love it every day. Thanks for all your love and support to me. I miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

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Wedding ring

Labor Day totally threw me off yesterday...I don't even remember what happened last week! hmm...ok, here we go...

Found a dead mouse in our apartment one night, contacted a the city fair, painted Hna Socorro's living room, passed out, good lessons, good finding, Ellis Island...

On Sunday, we had 6 investigators at church!! It was crazy good and testimony meeting was one of the best ever. Loved it. Martin came and he is still so excited a preparing for baptism. I love that man. When we went over to see him last week, he told us that he had had some trouble understanding what was going on in the Book of Mormon so, rather than give up like most other people would do, he decided to draw out what was going on! He showed us these huge, pro-style drawings of Lehi and his family with all their names and then the boat and them leaving Jerusalem with the corresponding scriptures written out beneath. He had about 3 or 4 drawings he had done. How cool is that? The Book of Mormon is so important and I am so glad he found a way to make it speak to him.

Rafael and Francisca came to church too. I don't know if I've told you about them but they are this older Dominican couple (not married, obviously) who are taking lessons from the JW's at the same time as us. He spoke a lot with missionaries in the DR and really liked it so they are progressing pretty well. They are getting closer and closer to realizing that while other people may teach good things to help them be better people, this is the doctrine of eternity! Every time someone bore their testimony about the Book of Mormon in church, Francisca just clutched her book closer and closer to her. I have wanted to see one of my investigators get married for basically my whole mission so maybe this will be the one!

We had a walking day on Thursday and it was REALLY hot (I think it was our last big heat wave for the year...due to that hurricane) so we went walking down to Lucina's, about 45 minutes walk away and by the time we got there I was passed out. That was exciting. Haha, but I'm good, don't worry. What else is new, right?

Yesterday was a great p-day. We hiked Garret Mountain with Hna Socorro...it was the same hike we did together last year on Labor Day...my first p-day in the field! But now when I looked out over Paterson, I recognized all the buildings as if I were looking out over Provo. It was really neat, and great weather. And last night for finding time we drove past downtown and saw a huge circus tent set up and a fair going on. It was packed with people so we decided to go and make some contacts and get some potential new investigators. It worked! We found some pretty cool people...and that's not even to mention our Mexico bracelets we got...and free ice cream...and saw several members/inactives. Very productive. I'll put some pictures.

So, it was a really great week. We had some very powerful, spirit-led lessons and spirit-led finding. I love that. I think that often as missionaries we take for granted just how much we have the spirit with us every day. I know it is a great blessing and it can truly guide our lives if we let it. Thank you so much for the packages I've gotten recently! Mom, the candy bar was exactly what I needed. And Chris, Megan, Michael, and Cari, I LOVED the pictures of everybody. I have them in my scriptures to show off to people. They are adorable. And my comp loves the little glowworm thing. :)

I am so grateful to be a missionary. I love it every day. Thanks for all your love and support to me. I miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

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Teaching the ice cream man sure has its perks!

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Hey everybody!

How is life back on the west coast? It has been dumping rain for 2 days straight! Crazy stuff. It rained on Monday too...and when it rains here, it is always accompanied by high-speed winds, thunderclaps louder than you've ever heard in your life, and lots of falling trees (as was the case when we came out of a lesson on Monday night...refer to picture #132...that is our car and that is the tree that landed right next to our car!). So yeah, it has been fun.

We found some pretty cool new investigators this week...one is the ice cream man! We talked to him outside his house and had a good lesson with him (we didn't know yet that he was the ice cream man), and then after the prayer he said, "Hey, I'm just getting ready to leave for work." "Oh that's cool. Where do you work?" "I sell ice cream. Do you want some?" He then opened his garage door to reveal a huge ice cream truck and he gave us each a free popsicle. Woohoo! Then another new investigator we found as we were looking for a referral we had gotten from a member. We knocked on a door (apparently the wrong one) and a guy answered. We asked for Matilde and he said that she rented the other half of the house but that she wasn't home right then. We got to talking with him and as he opened the door a little wider, I saw that he was standing in a recording studio! He plays and records music for different churches. Hermana Schleske told him I was really into music so he handed me his guitar and I played and sang "I Stand All Amazed." He stopped me in the middle, turned on all his recording gear, and told me to start over. He burned me a copy of the cd right then and there. Pretty rough recording, obviously, but sweet, huh? I'll try to send it to you. He said that anytime we wanted to come back, he would record me for free. :) So then we got to talking with him and all the different music he does and he asked, "You know, I go to all these different churches every Sunday doing music for them, but I don't get why there are so many churches!" Perfect lead-in to a lesson about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it!

Oh, update on Danny...I don't know if you remember him or not but we have been teaching him for a LONG time...basically since I first got back to Paterson. He has been making lots of drastic changes in his life to come unto Jesus...hair cut, leaving the women, and now he has finally stopped smoking and drinking completely!!! It is amazing to see the progress he's made. It's been a slow, steady process with him...our members involved in the lessons have wanted us to give up on him numerous times but we haven't felt like we should. And now he has a baptismal date! Awesome. The last big hurdle is getting him Sundays off work consistently...it's kind of hit and miss. But he will be able to if he has the faith, I know it. And Minerva...she's still a work in progress as well but we feel like we're getting a little closer every time we meet with her. Expect good news about her very soon... :)

My companion and I are getting along really well and getting a lot of good work done here. We have been blessed over and over again this week as we have just given all we can give to the Lord and letting Him do the rest. I'm grateful for the comfort and guidance of the Holy Ghost that we can receive when we do what's right. Something that I've learned a lot about lately is PATIENCE! Patience with yourself, Patience with others, and Patience with the Lord. All 3 aspects are crucial in being able to fully follow the Lord's path for your life and fulfill what He knows you, and only you, can fulfill. I am so grateful for all of you that have experienced patience with me over the years and the way the Lord has taught me that he knows best. He always knows what we need and when we need it. Follow His plan for you, be flexible to it, and things will turn out better than you could have expected (see the last 2 verses of Alma 34).

I hope everything continues to go well. Mom, I hope you're feeling better. Grandma is leaving soon, yeah? I hope she had a wonderful visit. Tell her I love her. And Nana's birthday is coming up, right? Happy Birthday, Nana! :) Take care. I miss you mucho but I love you mas!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

P.S. The other picture is my comp and I at Lucina's baby shower. The decorations were done by Emma, the member who owns the house we live in...she is SO flying out to Utah in several years to decorate for my wedding. Haha. :)

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Back-up plan: cry!

What a great week to finish out an amazing transfer and power us into the next! We had 2 baptisms yesterday!!!!! Eric got baptized right after church and Maria a couple hours later. It was just wonderful. Eric's grandma, Matilde (got baptized almost a year ago) was just crying so much to see her grandson get baptized. She bore her testimony and the spirit was so strong. And this coming Sunday, Eric's mom Lucina is going to get baptized! How cool is that? Matilde, Lucina, Eric, and his little brother are who are in the picture #0074. The primary kids sang at his baptism and he was just so excited all week. I love teaching that kid. A couple of days ago when we were getting him ready for his baptismal interview, we asked him about Jose Smith and he went on to tell us the entire story from the childrens Book of Mormon...starting with all of the questions JS had to the vision and on to using the Urim and Thummim to translate the plates! Haha, smart kid. He was so ready!

Maria's preparation on the other hand was not quite as smooth. Never have I seen the powers of Satan working so hard against somebody to get her to back out on her decision. We went to visit her one day and as I was doing her dishes she just started coming out with doubt after doubt about the church and prophets and coffee and who even knows what else. We had a lesson with her that day and did not let her go a day all week without seeing us. I have never prayed harder for somebody in my life! I kept telling Heavenly Father, "It has taken her 6 years to even say yes to get baptized. I know she will get her answer in the next 2 days to be able to know these things are true." It took a lot of faith and fasting but we could not back down and she came through so confident and happy in the end. After her baptism, she was just glowing and was saying how happy she was that she finally did it. I attached 2 pictures of her...one with her family before her baptism and one with her after. She is so strong and is going to be the key in reactivating her husband's entire family. The way they all rallied around her at her baptism yesterday was amazing.

We found some pretty cool new investigators this week, which was needed because as much as we've been trying, things have been rough in that aspect. But the Lord always blesses us when the time is right...and for me it seems to always be in the last week of the transfer cycle. Oh, speaking of transfers...I am staying in Paterson again and Hna Binning is getting transferred! Crazy, huh? So you can keep sending your letters directly to me (for the address, email my mom). I'm going on my 5th transfer (total) here in Paterson...that's longer than I was in Morristown but I have so much more energy here. That means I get to be here for Lucina's baptism and hopefully for some others we hope to see this transfer. It will be great! Hna Binning is really sad to be going. We have worked really well together...we are SO different from each other but it made a good balance in the work. This transfer will take us halfway into September...meaning I will be repeating days in the same area (considering I arrived in Paterson last year on Sep 2). I am excited though to see what it holds.

Well family, I hope things are going better for you all. To my wonderful brothers, don't be afraid to write me every once-in-a-while...at least maybe one more time in my mission. :) I know that this gospel is what brings true happiness in our lives and that Heavenly Father will guide and direct us as we seek Him. My theme for this week/transfer has been 1 Nephi 10:17-19. I absolutely love what that says about being led by the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers. Take care and I'll write again next week with the details of my new comp. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

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What a great week to finish out an amazing transfer and power us into the next! We had 2 baptisms yesterday!!!!! Eric got baptized right after church and Maria a couple hours later. It was just wonderful. Eric's grandma, Matilde (got baptized almost a year ago) was just crying so much to see her grandson get baptized. She bore her testimony and the spirit was so strong. And this coming Sunday, Eric's mom Lucina is going to get baptized! How cool is that? Matilde, Lucina, Eric, and his little brother are who are in the picture #0074. The primary kids sang at his baptism and he was just so excited all week. I love teaching that kid. A couple of days ago when we were getting him ready for his baptismal interview, we asked him about Jose Smith and he went on to tell us the entire story from the childrens Book of Mormon...starting with all of the questions JS had to the vision and on to using the Urim and Thummim to translate the plates! Haha, smart kid. He was so ready!

Maria's preparation on the other hand was not quite as smooth. Never have I seen the powers of Satan working so hard against somebody to get her to back out on her decision. We went to visit her one day and as I was doing her dishes she just started coming out with doubt after doubt about the church and prophets and coffee and who even knows what else. We had a lesson with her that day and did not let her go a day all week without seeing us. I have never prayed harder for somebody in my life! I kept telling Heavenly Father, "It has taken her 6 years to even say yes to get baptized. I know she will get her answer in the next 2 days to be able to know these things are true." It took a lot of faith and fasting but we could not back down and she came through so confident and happy in the end. After her baptism, she was just glowing and was saying how happy she was that she finally did it. I attached 2 pictures of her...one with her family before her baptism and one with her after. She is so strong and is going to be the key in reactivating her husband's entire family. The way they all rallied around her at her baptism yesterday was amazing.

We found some pretty cool new investigators this week, which was needed because as much as we've been trying, things have been rough in that aspect. But the Lord always blesses us when the time is right...and for me it seems to always be in the last week of the transfer cycle. Oh, speaking of transfers...I am staying in Paterson again and Hna Binning is getting transferred! Crazy, huh? So you can keep sending your letters directly to me (for the address, email my mom). I'm going on my 5th transfer (total) here in Paterson...that's longer than I was in Morristown but I have so much more energy here. That means I get to be here for Lucina's baptism and hopefully for some others we hope to see this transfer. It will be great! Hna Binning is really sad to be going. We have worked really well together...we are SO different from each other but it made a good balance in the work. This transfer will take us halfway into September...meaning I will be repeating days in the same area (considering I arrived in Paterson last year on Sep 2). I am excited though to see what it holds.

Well family, I hope things are going better for you all. To my wonderful brothers, don't be afraid to write me every once-in-a-while...at least maybe one more time in my mission. :) I know that this gospel is what brings true happiness in our lives and that Heavenly Father will guide and direct us as we seek Him. My theme for this week/transfer has been 1 Nephi 10:17-19. I absolutely love what that says about being led by the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers. Take care and I'll write again next week with the details of my new comp. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

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"Ok, I'll Do It!"

Those 4 words (in the subject line) are the best words I have heard so far on my mission. Let me tell you about our AMAZING experience we had this week...

Tuesday night, we went over to see Maria DV and her husband, Danny. A couple of days previous, Hna Binning and I both felt very strongly that we needed to have a set appointment with both of them there in order to really help Maria progress and help their family. Maria had been praying about getting baptized on July 25 and told us that she didn't think it was right. We were devastated, clueless on what to do next with her, until finally we received the promptings to meet with them both. So we went over, she gave us dinner, and we got to talking. Our lesson was on faith and repentance. Danny had tons of questions about different things and then Maria turned to him and started explaining to him the same principles we have been teaching her for weeks about really just relying on the Lord for your support. As she explained it to him, I could see it all just clicking in her mind and she was really gaining a testimony of it. We went on in the lesson and talked about the blessings of the temple. We shared a story from the Feb 2010 Ensign (she LOVES the Ensigns) about a family who wanted the blessings of the temple but it says they weren't ready to keep all the commandments. It was so applicable to Maria and Danny's situation. As we read the story, I looked at Maria and said, "Maria, we have felt the promptings of the Holy Ghost to tell you that now is the time to get baptized and get your family to the temple. We fear that if you don't do it now, you never will. Now is the time to receive these blessings." After a little more discussion with them, I was looking down at my scriptures, wondering where to turn to next, when suddenly Maria said, "Ok, I'll do it." I thought I was dreaming it. I looked up and started laughing in disbelief and asked about 3 times, "Really? Are you serious? When?" "On August 1. I just checked the calendar and Danny has it off work. It hit me as you were reading that story. I just need to do this." So basically, to summarize that entire huge paragraph, Maria DV is getting baptized on August 1 and she has just been glowing!!!!!!!!!!

With the excitement of all of this, I have been thinking a lot about the tender mercies of the Lord that he gives us every day as His missionaries. We were clueless a couple of days before that lesson on what to teach her, but through diligent study and prayer, the Lord led us in our studies and planning to plan exactly what she needed to hear and blessed us with the spirit to touch her heart. Also, ever since I came back to Paterson, the members and other missionaries have been asking me, "Sister Jackson, when is Maria getting baptized? You know that you're back for her, right?" Yes, I knew, and I felt the pressure big time, especially when things weren't going as well as we had hoped. But the Lord blessed us. This is not a chance every missionary gets...to be able to serve in the same area twice. I know that it is another tender mercy of the Lord that he has given me to remind me of His love.

In other news, Eric (the 9-yr old) is also getting baptized on Sunday and we are way excited for him as well. Minerva, on the other hand, is having some doubts and will probably take several more weeks to be ready for baptism. I would rather have that though so that she is really doing it for her and not her son.

Oh, and just so you know, Mom and Cari, I think I like reading now...yeah, I know, it's hard for me to admit :) but I do enjoy reading and have this thirst to read lots of books after the mission...of course, that could just be because I can't right now, so I want to (maybe that's the rebel in me). Anyway, there's the update on me. :)

I think that's about it for this week. Prayers are being answered every day out here. I am so grateful for this time in my life the Lord has given me to serve Him. I'm humbled by the trust He has in me to teach and testify to my brothers and sisters about the doctrine of salvation. Our theme this transfer in our companionship is, "Love it. Every day." And I do. Thanks for all your love and support. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven

First things first, Happy 1st Birthday, Claire! Wish I could be there for it...haven't even met her yet but hey, she looks cute in the pictures. :) Be sure to send me some pictures of the occasion.

My address until at least August 2 is: 99 N 12th St #1, Prospect Park, NJ, 07508. The office address is still ok, I will just only get mail from there once a month...so that's only about 4 more times for the rest of my mission, so I would prefer at the house now. Thanks!

Our emotions depend so much on these people we teach...it's quite entertaining. We have 2 baptismal dates coming up! Eric (the 9-yr-old) is so excited to get baptized on Aug 1!! We gave him a children's Book of Mormon and he read all the was to Alma 48 in 2 days. He says it's his new favorite book. He just gets it so much! His mom, Lucina, is still a little unsure of when she wants to/can get baptized. We are trying to encourage her to get baptized with her son but we'll see what happens. She is doing really well though. They both came to church again yesterday and loved it. And for our other baptismal date...Minerva has decided to get baptized! Her son, Cristian, just moved here in May from the DR and he is a really active, strong member of the church. We've been teaching Minerva but things have been going kind of slow with her but the more we see her, the more things just click with her. We did a fast with her last Monday (her idea) to help her receive an answer about if she should get baptized. Cristian called us on Thursday and said, "I think my mom is going to get baptized!" We tried going to see her but she wasn't there so when we saw her last night, we talked to her about it. We challenged her for Aug 1 and at first she hesitated a lot and then Cristian said, "Come on, mom, just put a date on it and if the date comes and you're not comfortable, we can put it off." She said yes! And then Cristian added, "Hey, you should get baptized on my birthday (typical Hispanic thing to do...they always want things to happen on their birthdays or holidays) and I can baptize you!" We asked when his birthday is and he told us July 31, and she agreed! It will be an awesome birthday present for him.

So yep, it has been a good week....really hot, as always. Up to Saturday morning, we had 0 new investigators, which was pretty depressing, but we ended up pulling it through on Saturday and Sunday hardcore.

Oh, yeah, and Eric's abuela, Matilde, taught us how to make Mexican flan the other day! It was so good! Sorry Mom, but flan from a box is just not going to cut it anymore :) This stuff tastes like the stuff you get in the restaurants. Haha. I am trying to learn how to cook some Hispanic things before I get home but it is really hard to find the time to learn anything other than desert stuff, because that's the quickest. But so far I can make flan, bonuelos, tostones/platanos, rice, and this way good Dominican drink called "morir sonando" (to die dreaming).

I think that's about it for this week. Just keep praying, do your best, and things will work out, no matter what's going on. I love this work and I know that the Lord is answering your prayers for me. Thanks for all your support. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

Hna Binning, what happened this week?

Hey family!

Oh my gosh, we worked our little tails off this week! We are bound and determined to see some results in this area and are not resting till we get it. But unfortunately, with all that, I have no idea what to tell you about this week. The investigators we have are just taking their time progressing so we are really focusing on finding LOTS of new investigators. I know Heavenly Father has people here who are really prepared, we just need to find them!

So, on Sunday nights after planning, my comp and I usually go through our week and talk about the good/funny/random experiences to tell about in our emails. Last night, our conversation went a little something like this:

Me: "Hermana Binning, what happened this week?"

Her: "Ummm...we reached our goals...but they don't really care about that..."

Me: "We found some crazy Dominican men working on cars...but that's really all there is to tell about them."

Her: "Yeah. I don't know. But it was a really good week! Why can't we think of anything to write about?"

Me: "Oh, I cut my bangs."

Her: "Yeah, you could write about that!"

Me: "Ok, good idea. Good night."

I don't know if I've just gotten more serious on my mission or if the funny things have just gotten so normal that I don't feel like they're worth telling or what, but just trust me when I say that we did have an amazing week. We didn't get to do anything fun for the 4th of July because it was on a Sunday. Hermana Binning and I were remembering last July 4th in the MTC watching the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire and we looked through our camera at pictures of us then. But hey, we did get to go over to a member's apartment for an appearance at his little gathering for the branch and share a spiritual thought about the promised land. This member lives on the top floor (13th floor) of a retirement home with a perfect view of the NY skyline and the fireworks. Anyway, I think I gained a new appreciation for the 4th of July yesterday. Most people that know me know that I'm not very patriotic at all. But last night all the members of the branch were so excited to sing "America the Beautiful" in gratitude for the life and opportunities that have opened up to them since coming here. We had people that have been here for everything from 2 to 33 years and they were all just grateful for being here. They still love their countries, surely, but they recognize the blessings they now have and that their children have been given. I realized how grateful I am to have been born and raised here. I think I finally came to grips that being grateful for my country and the blessings I have is not a sin and it doesn't mean I think I'm better than anyone else who lives in another country, it just means I love who I am, and I'm ok with that.

Anyway, that's about it for today. I think I will write a hand-written letter if time allows today, and include a picture if I can. Our p-days have officially been cut mission-wide by an hour permanently to utilize prime finding time. I hope things are going well. If you have any specific questions ask me and then it will give me something cooler to say. :) I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

Teaching>Baptism>the TEMPLE!

Life is SO GOOD!! Can I just tell you how many amazing experiences we have had this last week? Some funny, some stressful yet rewarding, and lots of the spirit.

First off, we got to go to the Manhattan Temple on Wednesday night! I was probably there at the same time that mom was at the temple in Provo, which is kind of neat. We went as a group of sister missionaries...about 14 of us starting out. I say starting out because by the end there were only 9 of us by the time we got to the temple (5 got on the wrong train and the doors closed before we could tell them to get off...oops!). And then we got off at the wrong subway exit...about 10 blocks too early, so we were running through NYC in pouring rain trying to catch the session in time. We were soaked! But once we got in the temple, the peace of it all just completely flooded over me. I love the temple. I spent a long time in there thinking about various things going on in my life and in the lives of my investigators and I know that everything is in the Lord's hands. He knows what He's doing, we just need to trust Him enough to let Him do it.

I was excited to hear my family had a party for the Copa Mundial. We could definitely tell when it started because people are wearing jerseys of their country all over the place and every house we walk into has a game going on. It is quite the temptation but don't worry, I don't watch them, but hey, it provides for a good way to relate to people as we go tracting!

Some of the best news I have gotten recently was yesterday, Hna Erickson called me from Morristown and told me that Miguel is getting baptized this Sunday! She said they haven't been visiting him really at all since I left but he has still just been coming to church and going to the activities and such. I guess he just told them yesterday at church that he finally felt ready. He asked them if I could come but I can't. But the important thing is that he is making the decision he is. I am so excited for him. When we first met him, I never would have guessed that he would become so converted. And it is all through the power of the Book of Mormon! He is one of those people that I look back on and think to myself, "How in the world did it happen? How did he accept it?" He was so strong in his other church but the Book of Mormon changed him and I am so grateful for it.

Yesterday was just a great day altogether. Everyone says that Sacrament meeting is supposed to be the culminating part of a missionary's week, and yesterday it definitely was. We had 3 investigators come to church, all for the first time! Maria couldn't come at the last minute but Lucina, Ana, and Minerva were all just loving it! Lucina and Minerva have family members in our branch and so it is great to be able to teach them and help to make their families complete. Ana came with her daughters without knowing anybody and she loved it! When all the Peruvian women found out she was from Peru, they just took her right under their wing and helped her around. It is so neat the way being from the same country immediately bonds people. When we meet a new investigator, we rack our brains of all the members from that country and who would fit best for them, and it works every time!

Last thing, I promise...most of the areas in the mission have a car, and we use it a lot because our area is pretty big and dangerous at night. But last month, they started something in the mission called "car fast days" where one day a week we have to leave the car parked (we can get rides with members or take the bus or something, we just can't use our cars because the mission is over its limit on mileage limitations). So anway, last Friday was one of those days. We were walking all around in areas that we've never really walked before just heading to our next appointment and before we knew it, 2 different people had stopped us and told us they had been baptized in their home countries and just moved here and were looking for the church! How cool is that? And another guy who used to be taught and wants to be taught again. I love it! Sure I'm usually at the brink of passing out during our car fasts, but we're finding like crazy! Give and take, right? :)

Ok, that's all for today. I want you to know that I know this church is true. I've never known more in my life! "The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be full of light, thy whole body shall be full of light also." (3 Nefi 13:22) Focus our eyes toward the Savior and His teachings and we will radiate the light of Christ and draw others unto it. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

P.S. Mom, thanks for the package! I love the CD's!

P.P.S. Some pictures: the sisters at the temple and a typical street in Paterson.

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There is absolutely zero theme to this email! :)

Hey Everyone!

I hope you (my family, at least) were able to read my legit letter I wrote last week. Memorial Day made it kind of difficult to use a public library since they were all closed and then we were doing exchanges the next day so I got to sit down and write a letter snail mail style. I kind of liked it though. I think I might do it more often in the rest of my mission. Sorry I didn't have pictures to send with it, but I'll include some in this email.

So, Maria DV is still continuing to progress beautifully. She has come to church 2 Sundays in a row now and loved it both times! On Saturday night, we had a noche de hogar with her whole extended family (her husband's side). Basically the only active one in the family is her husband's mother, Mercedes, and she is awesome! It was kind of crazy but it was good. The theme was about the Family Proclamation to the World were it says, "Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." We had all of the kids go around with one concept each (on a puzzle piece) and explain what it was then put it in the puzzle. When we flipped it over, it was a family! :) How creative, huh? Haha, it was fun though. The kids loved it and the parents learned a lot too. I love teaching people about the family proclamation and helping them see just how inspired it is.

Last week we got to do exchanges with the other Spanish sisters and it was my first time ever getting to be the one to go to someone else's area, so that was fun. I got to go down to North Branch and work with Hermana Evens, "my baby!" I might have made her make me pancakes for breakfast since she forgot to call me on Mother's Day...haha, just kidding, she wanted to. :) It was fun working with her again though. While we were together, we discovered that NJ has this really fun thing it likes to do with the weather where it will be really muggy/humid/overcast all day and then at about 5pm the heavens open and just dump down all the rain it's got for about 10 minutes, then it drizzles for another 5 then stops and clears up. Weird, I know. So if we ever happen to get caught outside when it decides to dump, we get soaked. That happened to me and Hna Evens as we went darting a couple of blocks from our appointment to where the car was parked. I felt like I had just gotten off the rapids ride at hurricane harbor or something. Good times.

We get to go to the temple again this Saturday! Our branch is going too and I am so excited!!! I miss going to the temple so much. There is a special spirit that the temple has that you cannot find anywhere else. That is where I want every one of these people I am working with to be able to go because it truly is the house of the Lord. I will need to soak it in all I can again because the next time won't be until November or so. Manhattan will probably be a little more crazy at this time of year than it was when we went in December but it will be neat to see.

Sorry this email is so random and in short-scatterred chunks but I guess that is the way my mind is working today. The work is really picking up here, which is a huge blessing. I know the potential this area has, we are just working to get it at that again so we can see even more miracles. Little miracles of the Lord are coming each and every day. If you ever think that Heavenly Father doesn't answer prayers, just get up off your knees and try to be the answer to someone else's prayers. As you do that, you will know then that He does and is ever so aware of you. I love this work. I never thought I could love people so much as I do right now. I know it sounds cliche as a missionary, but it is so true. My heart aches for them to come unto Christ! Keep them in your prayers.

Hopefully I'll hear from you all soon. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson

Pics: 573 - Noche de hogar with the whole family! Maria is down in the front with the kids in the yellow shirt (her son)

559 - me and Hna Cornish in front of our new favorite tag in Paterson. Oh Dominicans. :)

549 - A typical teaching appointment. Meet Wilson. He's Puerto Rican, covered in tattoos, has a really raspy voice and a difficult accent to understand, and I'm pretty sure he's killed someone. But hey, he needs the gospel too, right?

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Paterson never ceases to amaze me! :)

I hugged a drunk woman yesterday. Yep. It was pretty funny...and eye-opening actually. Yesterday was one of the craziest Sundays of my mission. We started out the morning trying to get one of our new investigators, Ventura, to church. I say "trying" because the ride we had arranged for him left without taking him...which we didn't find out until right before church started (we were waiting with him to be picked up). So then we had to call around for a taxi and got to church with him right in the middle of the Sacrament. It was crazy but I hope he still could feel the spirit there. Luckily there was an empty seat next to Rafael so they became best friends...oh little Dominican men. :) Then me and my comps had to rush up to sit on the stand because we were all speaking (which we found out about late Saturday night). I gave my talk and everybody was commenting afterward about how they remembered the last time I spoke in the branch...my third week on the mission. Haha, I hope it was a little better this time. :)

So, I sat down after my talk, which was all about how Christ invites everyone to come unto Him (2 Nephi 26:33), and Hna Binning gets up to give hers. All of a sudden, in the back door of the chapel comes wandering this big drunk black woman crying. One of the members gets up immediately to take her into the foyer and then motions for me to come out too. I go out there and find the elders reading her some scriptures. I sat down next to her on the couch, she turned to me and just threw herself on me as she started bawling her eyes out saying how she's been bad and she wants to come to Jesus. She lives across the street from the church and just came wandering over. I just put my arm around her and told her she had come to the right place to change and be better. After about 20 minutes of this, the elders offered to give her a blessing, but they told her it depended on her faith. She yelled out, "Oh, I have faith BIGGER than a mustard seed, yes it is!" Haha, something in that just made my heart go out to her. She didn't want to leave the church building until she could attend the English branch, which was still over 2 hours away from starting, so we put in Finding Faith in Christ for her to watch and she exclaimed that she wanted to get baptized! :) When the English elders showed up, we happily greeted them and told them, "Hey, we've got a baptism all lined up for you!" Good times. Like I said though, the whole experience was actually pretty eye-opening. It's so easy to love people when they're doing what's right but I had never really had such a feeling for someone who wasn't. I guess I just saw that no matter how drunk she was, something in her told her that she could go to the church and find help. I thought back to how much my talk had just applied to what I was facing. Christ invites everyone, and therefore, we should invite everyone as well. Maybe today when the elders go over to see her, she won't remember a thing that happened yesterday, but in time, Heavenly Father will touch her heart and she may wander into a church again (hopefully more sober) and feel something familiar, something good.

Exciting, huh? :) Let's see...oh, also this week, we contacted and taught an Italian man (who speaks some Spanish) and a Brazilian woman (who just speaks Portuguese but we do the best we can). Michael and Cari, the Italian man, Victor, wants you to call him and talk to him. He is from Napoli and brought out a lot of pictures of Calabria (are they anywhere near each other?) I don't know. Anyway, I'll send you his number. And Chris, if you want to call Anisia and speak Portuguese to her, go for it. Since coming back to Paterson and going to Ellis Island every other week, I have grown this huge desire to learn both Portuguese and Italian to just be able to communicate with more of these people! I've learned how to teach how to pray in Portuguese and how to offer help in Italian. Any extra help from you on more phrases or whatever would be greatly appreciated. :)

I heard good news from Hna Erickson in Morristown about Miguel! I wrote him a letter before I left and was pretty bold with him about the church and left 2 Nephi 33:10-11 for him to read. Apparently when they went over to give it to him, they spoke really boldly as well and when he read the letter, it matched up perfectly with what they had been telling him and he knew it was the spirit. He is seriously praying about moving his baptismal date up now. I absolutely love that man! When I look back on my time in Morristown, he is definitely one of the reasons I was there.

So how are you all doing? How is your latest tour going, Malcolm? Summer has basically started now, right? I love the summer time on the mission. People are just naturally happier and more willing to talk about God and make changes in their lives as we point out the blessings of God's creations all around us.

I know that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us more than we can know. The very first principle we teach is that God is our loving Heavenly Father. That is a principle I think I took for granted so much before my mission. No matter what our circumstance, our heartache, our joy, or our suffering may be, He is always there. I love teaching people how to pray and hearing them talk with Him for maybe the first time in their life. My mind goes so much to Mormon 9, which I have become addicted to lately! It testifies to me that miracles do happen, our prayers will be answered, and we will be blessed through our faith.

I pray for you all continually that the Lord continues to bless you. Take care and I will write again next week. I miss you tons but I love you more!

Love,

Hermana Jackson