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.

New in NICEVILE:)

Hey hey my loved ones:) 

I hope everything in Utah is going too good. WELL, I am here in Niceville with Sister Fox!! She is super sweet and very soft spoken. She just graduated and is from Colorado I love her a lot. Our personalities are different but we have the same goal and are going to put in some good work!! She is already way on top of everything and is teaching me a lot!

Where to begin! We are SO new! Hahah that thought has run through my head a thousand times this week. Our second night in our apartment I woke up in panic to a siren going off. I thought someone was breaking in ha but little did we know we have a broken Carbon Monoxide detector. So here Sis Fox and I are at 4 in the morning searching our apartment for where the siren was coming from and it took us a solid 30 min to tape it shut haha. Thats happened more than once this week! 

 I felt like i was leaving home all over again because of how much love for the people I have in Fairhope but slowly and surely we are meeting people here. We are in a car share witht the elders here which means we will be rollin on bikes everyother day! We also have a YSA branch here so we pack lunches and stay at church from 7:30 to 6 at night!  Almost our whole ward is Military which is cool! A lot of them aren't from the South and I almost feel out of place now:)

  I will be honest, this week was one of the hardest out here in the mission. I didn't realize how many moments i would have here where I felt utterly alone. It is difficult moving to a new area with a brand new missionary when we both don't know a soul or thing about it. Where nothing and no one is familiar and no one knows you. It is difficult to lead an area of God's children that I don't know yet! Ha I just wish i knew more for Sis Fox! But things are going to get better! It has really pushed and stretched me which i'm so grateful for. I know that I needed this. I had a sacred experience this week that i want to share...

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 One morning I felt broken, exhausted, alone, and overwhelmed by my own expectations. During one of my studies I went into the bathroom and knelt down before my maker. And for a long time I knelt there pouring my entire soul to him, pleading  him with every ounce of energy i had in me. I prayed to God for the strength and for purpose in what I was doing here. For the faith. For the help that i needed from him to help and love my new companion. And then i just knelt there with my head in my fists and listened. I didn't have a heavens come down experience but when i stood up I looked in the mirror at my worn and tear filled face, and i knew God was proud of me.  The rest of my week my heart has felt lighter and although its tough I feel God closer to me. I realized that when no one else knows who i truly am He does. I was reminded of 3 Nephi 17:10 " And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears."

 Whether the tears were on the saviors feet or upon a bathroom floor in an apartment in Florida, the tears ARE THE SAME. He hears me the same. He hears us all the same. 

I am grateful to be out here serving Him and loving Him. Keep reading and praying. I know he hears your prayers and he wants nothing more than for you to hear Him. Thank you for being the best family a girl could ask for:) 

SO much love,

Sis Jackson!

My new good pal Sister Fox!!!:)

Williams had me sign there their shed! How i love them!!!!

Farewell Fairhope!

Heyyyy Fam bam! This week was nuts seriously thank you for all the support you have given me with losing my pump! I love you all dearly!!! Transfers came and im off to NICEVILLE FLORIDA wahoo. I am white washing( which means that both me and my comp will be new to the area), and training. So I will go pick my new pal up from the mission home and take her on over there! Wish us luck from there:) I am really excited to make Niceville into the area God has in store! I know He will help me build and guide my new companion in this area. 

Fairhope will always have such a big part of my heart. It is SO SO hard to part from some of my best friends here! I LOVE THE SOUTH. I know i did my part here and i learned more than I could ever imagine. God sure loves his people here. I love you all with every thing that I am. Gods Speed:)xoxo Sister J

We woke up at 5 today to go tour Fort Morgan! So cool.

Believing Him

Happy Monday once again!! I am sure BYU lost because they are still missin me there. I hope you all cheered loud enough for us all:) This week was a solid solid week. 

A girl named Alleyha requested a free Bible on Mormon.org and when we showed up at her apartment it turns out she was 13 years old. She was the purest more darling little girl. Her grandma was laying on the couch in the dark behind her and they let us in. We ended up teaching them a beautiful lesson on the Restoration of the gospel. They both had such genuine hearts. 

This week I am full of gratitude for Jesus Christ. I teach people with full confidence feeling the love god has for them and the yearning our Savior has for them. Yet it is harder for me sometimes to feel it in my own self. I am learning and growing my love for the peace that Christs suffering offers and what it means to me. I am learning not only to believe IN Christ but to simply BELIEVE HIM. To trust him. To trust that when he says "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you"(John 14:18), he means it. I know he means it. I felt the edifying affects that the Savior offers to lift us as I partook of the sacrament this week.  More than ever I feel like He hears me and understands me. I know he loves ALL his children so infinitely. I love him with everything that I am. Thank you for being the best family ever to support me out here!! I am SO blessed:)

Sister J

This is Missy. She is theee coolest with some wicked nails. She lives out side the Library, we teach her and give her fruit snacks when we run into her. Wee are real good friends!

The Good Life!

I am alive and well!! Hurricane Hermine came and went!! My side of the Mission just had lots of rain. Only the East Missionaries got evacuated! What a WEEK. There are moments on the mission where you wish to be no where eles. Where you take a step back and just soak in your life, in God and how good he is to you. I wish I had more time but here were a few!

Monday a member took us and two of our investigators down to Gulf Shores! MY MISSION IS BEAUTIFUL.Sister Fletcher and I had lil one on one lessons at the beach. Seriously some of my favorite lessons. It is simply the best when multiple things and people you love coincide. 

Fairhope is the artiest lil town you've ever seen. Every month they do an art walk and Linda took Sis Fletch and I and we street contacted while she looked at the art. Locals play live music on the corners which is something that I could never get enough off. I am not sure if its just because i miss music in general but there is something so raw and inspiring about live music. Any ways!! We walked back into this little court yard and there were 3 ladies sitting on a bench. They were Jehovah Witness's and were a RIOT. We started with talking and then it turned into dancing which turned into pictures which turned into getting the numbers;) Then two other J.W witnesses noticed our name tags and came up to us and there we all were dancin in unity! Ha some were nicer than others. One said to me" you need to come to our kingdom hall." So i invited her to come to our church and she about had it. I made some real good friends that night:)

Yesterday we had a wonderful zone conference and all the Sisters stayed at our apartment last night.In a mission you meet so many new people all the time which i love!! 

 After the conference we went and just tracked Mobile the rest of the day. Sisters don't serve there because of safety concerns but man I wish I could. The whole population there is African American and so receptive. It was right before we had to go and we stopped at one last door. We ended up teaching a cute family the Restoration of the Gospel. Gosh I wish more than anything I could go back to that lesson. As I told of Josephs experience of the first vision the spirit consumed the room. I could hear words coming from my mouth but it wasn't me. The mother was so intrigued and recognized the spirit and peace we brought to her home. As we left she said "I can tell by the spirit you bring in your eyes and words that this is good, it is peace."

Everyday that I stand here I feel and understand more and more of the power and sacredness of this calling. I bore testimony last night to my zone of power of a changed heart. How the Lord heals them into who his Sons and Daughters are destined to be. My mission is real. I miss you all more than words can describe but i know that even the worsts of days are so worth it. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holds unimaginable truth. I am grateful to be here as the Lords servant and I thank him for it every day. I love you all to the moon and back!!!!

Sister Jackson:)

Our Jehovah Witness pals!

The wall of wishes at Gulf Shores!