Happy Halloween!

I don't have much time today but i just wanted to let you all know how much i love you and hope you are all loving life! 

We have biked all week and we able to meet some really neat people. I will just give you a glimpse of my morning....:)

 As of late i'v been really trying to do things for God. Whether its turning back to talk to someone or being present in a lesson when i feel exhausted. So this morning as we biked home an investigators home we passed someone sitting on her porch and I got the feeling we should go back so i yelled at Sister Fox and we turned back and sat down with her for a good hour. Sweet old Samoan lady. We had a good talk with her. Missionaries had tried to stop at their families home in Samoa. Its neat to see how many people have at some point in their life had connections to missionaries or the church. At one point she shouted " I feel need to pray." And we there we sat in her front yard holding hands as she gave the most wonderful, loving, praising Jesus prayer.  And i thought to myself im glad we turned around:)

 A few hours later when we went shopping i felt the need to talk to the guy bagging lettuce but thought to myself its my pday now i don't need to talk to him but sure enough when we came back 30 min later he was still standing there shelving the lettuce and we got his number and address. 

We smiled and said hi as we walked past another man and he stopped us and and said "Im mormon i havent gone in a long time because of my Methodist wife, but i still believe! " I know its true!!" Thing got heated when his wife came back but still a tender mercy:)

My point of this little rant is that i am just grateful for the opportunity to be the best of friends with God. To do things for him and for each other!

Yeah we let him down sometimes but unlike any other friend he will never walk away. 

I know that He is aware of his children and that he wants to be apart of every step in our lives. And life is simply better with him by your side!

So much love, 

Sister J

HA ALSO funny side moment. Two days ago we were weekly planning and I started itching my neck and i said to Sister Fox '' I am not feeling too good." I went to the mirror and i had completely broken out in hives. They are filthy. I must have eaten something im allergic to because the next 48 i was swollen head to toe with red spots. The elders nick named me a giraffe and to top it off when we came home some one had thrown pizza at our appartment door. #Missionary

Niceville Eagles For the W

Hey fam bam! I don't have much time but i thought id shoot you some pics from the beautiful beaches of Destin from last P-Day and the Niceville Football game we went to with Kat and Jordan!

I know I have talked about the surreal moments out on a mission or really in any time in life where you simply cherish every minute of what your doing and living. Where what your doing is raw and real.On Sunday Kat came to church and i could not have been happier. Sitting next to people at church who are far from the spirit is a neat thing. Because they are different people as they worship God. Even if it is but for a few moments. I will never forget sitting next to her Yesterday hearing her mumble the words to I am a Child of God. You experience so many humbling real moments as you seek to see the world as our father does.

I know that our Savior has the power to enable and truly change us. He loves us for who we are but more importantly for who we are to become. I love you all so much and count my lucky stars everyday for my beautiful family back at home:) 

so much love, 

Sister Jackson

A week full of GODS GOOD LOVE

What a week. So many tender mercies. 

HAPPY DAY. Camille came to church yesterday and it was so great. She has a baptismal date for Novemeber 12 but just has to quite smoking. She is usually up and down about it and yesterday was an up for sure. She went around telling anyone and everyone about her Baptism date. Mean while Sis Fox and  I chased her around carrying her Walmart sac of her valuables that she doesn't trust to leave at the house hah shes awesome.

This week i have really seen how the Lord puts us in others paths for a reason. We volunteer at a food shelter every week and we have been trying to walk people out to talk to them while we help load groceries for finding efforts. A lot refuse but finally i just told this lady we are GOING to help you and walked out with her! As we got talking to her she broke down in tears because of how much hair she had lost that day with her newly diagnosed breast cancer. We sat and hugged her and loved her. Whether anything comes from her or not I am humbled to be a part of this incredible work not only to share the gospel with people but to simply share the LOVE of God with people.

One more humbling moment this week happend in the line at Walgreens! We started talking to the lady in front of us named Gloria. After a moment she read our name tags and said "Mormons?!"  She had requested a Book of Mormon just a few days earlier but after thinking it through, told the lady from the online number that she doesn't want any one coming by because of an awful heartbreaking situation that she is in with her husband. We talked to her for an hour there at Walgreens. She had prayed that morning for guidance and direction from God and we agreed that this was him speaking to her. She was brought to tears. She was "yearning for more truth."She explained her situation to us and I felt the simple and profound love God has for her. She left that morning eager to read the book. We set up and appointment for this week to meet her at a park before her Husband wakes up. God is aware of his children. This past Sunday i spoke on this divine help and the sustaining power of prayer.

Elder Juan Uceda gave a beautiful thought this last conference.. “At the very moment we say Father in Heaven,” He hears our prayers and is sensitive to us and our needs. And so His eyes and His ears are now connected to you. He reads our minds, and He feels our hearts. You cannot hide anything from Him. Now, the wonderful thing is that He will see you with eyes of love and mercy—love and mercy that we cannot fully understand. But love and mercy are with Him the very moment you say, “Father in Heaven.”

I know that God did not only hear Gloria's Prayer that day, but all of our prayers that day. He loves us and wants nothing more than for us to love him in return. Thank you all for all support and prayers this week:)

xoxo Sister Jackson!

One of our neighbors miguel from the San Martin Islands. 

Jordan from our YSA ward brought Kat(on the right) to church a few weeks ago and we talked to her and have been teaching her lately! Shes awesome. They are both Military so pick us up, get us on Eglin Base we just teach them random places there! They are our new pals!

Not a bad place to teach the Restoration eh?

Safe from the Hurricanes

Good Morning from Florida:) This week was a good one. Our ward split so we are in chaos a bit trying to find our new areas to cover and switching to new wards. SO! Elder Sitati from the 70 came to our mission this week! It was really neat experience. He and his wife are from Kenya and hearing their sweet voices made me miss my African pals. It was also fun to see some friends from across the mission that i'v missed dearly! You could really feel of the deep relationship that he has with God and Jesus Christ as he taught us and just simply being in his presence. 

We are still working with a few people one being Camille. Ah Camille I need to just send you a picture of her. Shes great. She has a baptismal date in November but has some demons she needs to conquer first. She is very back and forth but knows its true. She had a dream one night that her family came to her and told her to keep doing what the Sisters are telling her to do. To keep doing the work Sister Jackson and Fox are teaching her. She feels the spirit and believes in the church. The other day we had a lesson with her and she began to back out of her baptism date because she is afraid of failing once shes baptized. We testified our little hearts out and she felt it. We all got on her dirty tile floor and prayed to God if November 12th is the date he wants her to get baptized. And sure enough it was confirmed and she was so excited. We were doing sooooo good with Camille. Yet when Sunday rolled around she was not there. It breaks your heart. You invest so much of who you are and what you have to offer in your life and when those you love fall it hurts.You feel how strong God loves his children and can see the hope ahead for them but they can't. And some days it hurts so deeply that you want to pull your energy and heart away. However, when you do that Lucifer wins. 

My testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ really radiated through me this week. I think in life we all have to stop and ask ourselves "What do I want?" " What do I truly deeply desire?" In your conviction or relationship with God or with your self or simply the life you want to live and be a part of. The desire to grow to him can never be lost. Desire. That is where it all begins. 

I know that through our saviors atonement he gave us the power of God to flow through us. I love you all SO much. I pray that we can all asks ourselves these questions weekly to find the Joy that we are meant to be given. 

Sister Jackson:)

This is Jorde are rockin neighbor that we've been teaching in the parking lot. 

Finally got to save a turtle. They are squashed out the wahzoo all over the roads here!

Welcome to the Grind

Hey hey all! I don't have much time today because we are all going to play a District sand volleyball tournament on the beach in Destin! I'm sure you could guess that couldn't be happier:):)This week was so good. It has stretched me as always but its the best. Ha Sis Fox and I are still on the hunt to find any one and everyone to teach! I believe having two new missionaries in an area has potential for a lot of miracles because there is not a companion who knows who is receptive and who isn't. So by fault we take a book of addresses and try everyone and figure it out along the way! Just the other day we showed up at a less active members house and as we talked she let. us. have. it. MAN. She began tearing apart the Church and it ended with her telling us the classic "you two are brain washed and look like grandmas." Hahah poor Sis Fox just stood there as i tried to testify and leave. 

We have a few people we are working with to progress to wards the waters of baptism but Satan is doing a dang good job on them. He sure has a tight clasp on our brothers and sisters here. Often times we walk away from people who are just bitter, angry, blind and lost and it breaks my heart.

 I thought of you guys as i watched General Conference at the church with the Elders. I forget that over there everything is changing colors, how i love fall! I truly received spiritual strength and lift from the past two days. Every day i'm here i can feel God opening my heart and eyes to the magnitude of our Savior and of the pure power and love of the Restoration of Christs Gospel. It often feels like a fight to feel close to God or to my testimony with the world against us but I promise you that I am never happier than with him. I sat there on Saturday morning with my heart light and just thought to myself "I am SO happy." It was crazy to me that i am miles on miles away from home and the people i love most yet at these times i can feel so much joy! I have never felt more like myself and who God wants me to be. 

I love you all so much. Thank you for being the best family and team that i could ever ask for. You have no idea how much you all mean to me. Just know someone in Florida loves youuuuu:)

Sis J

#missionaries

This is Sue! She just got Baptized a few months ago and she took us to one of her Art shows to talk to her friends and see her to pieces! She is awesome!

GOOD NEWS. Sis Fox is teaching me how to cook! Needless to say we have had some pretty awful meals lately.