Madison Madness

Happy Monday:) 

Madison is AWESOME. I love it here. SO country. I live in the middle of no where. It is TINY. I'm in a lil branch of about 40 people on a good day. It is the strangest feeling here. We are an hour away from all the other missionaries and you will go miles and miles at night sometimes with out seeing a single light or a sign of civilization. In some places it truly feels like a third world country with its poverty stricken and neglected people. Most don't have phones or internet here which makes it tricky but the people are Wonderful. Simply wonderful. We live in an old hotel from the 60's that smells like a cabin ah. Sister Anderson is great. We could not be more opposite but we will put in some good work together. She is teaching me a lot!

I will give yall just a few glimpses into Madison....:)

We had a powerful lesson the other day. We sat in plastic chairs at the end of Kathlene's ( a Recent converts sick momma) bed. Her lil sassy son got baptized a few months ago so him and kathlene and his sister all had a great lesson from the Book of Mormon. NOthing is better than teaching people who are genuinely trying to learn more! Despite their being cockroaches everywhere literally (all over the walls, falling from the ceiling, and running across my feet) but no one seemed to notice besides me ha so on we went. Now I just shake them off my feet with out breaking thought. God provides:) We invited them all to be baptized. And we are really making progress.

Another night we went to a less actives house who is a strange man. OH Brother Starlin. I chased one of his 12 cats with pink eye around his yard trying to catch her for him. She bite me and he said " I hope she don't give ya cellulitis." He thinks one of them gave it to him and isn't sure which one... I just laughed and said "ME too!" 

The second day here Sister Anderson told me we were singing in a rest homes Christmas Program. When we showed up it was all the residents and all their families and all the workers. Hahah it was actually a pretty big event. First a female Deacon got up and praised her soul out with Hallelujahs and Amens and then another minister got up and taught from the Bible. And then the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints got up and we sang silent night. Hahah yall know my singing is less than average so i was lucky that every one was so good and loving and we all worshiped together.

Almost everyone here is African American and we went to Methodist Cantada last night that one of our investigators was preforming in. Man. I love that no matter where we are as God's children, or what we believe, or how we show it. We simply show it. We all are here worshiping and trying to love.

I love this Gospel. No where eles do I feel the spirit stronger than within this Divine, Christ led religion. I really felt the power of prayer sustain me this week. No matter how far away we are from those we love our loving Father is only a prayer away. Prayer is something so subtle and the help it gives is hard for me to put into words or feelings but it IS REAL. He lifts us to do and be who he calls of us in this life. To rise us in our environments to stay true to the Sons and Daughters that we are. I can't wait to see you all on SUNDAY! I love you!

Sister Jackson

Farewell Niceville!

HI FRIENDS:)

THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES. I am 20 and 10 pounds heavier with the 5 too many cakes i ate this week:) Thank you for loving me:) Transfers are HERE and I'm headed to Madison Florida this week! It is the very edge of the mission past Tally! It is always bittersweet leaving but I know God needs me there. My last week in Niceville was a really really good one. I am just soaking up the memories... sometimes literally!!!!

SO I don't know what my luck with pee lately is but somehow I just can't get away. Every week we help a grumpy lady change her sheets and clean her little trailer. With out fail there is always Dog poop and pee all over the floor. This time I managed to stand in it until Sister Fox gave me the cue to move and because of our back to back appointments I had soggy sticky shoes and feet for the next 7 hours. It was straight FILTHY and all we could do was laugh! That day was just all laughing as we knocked on houses in the back woods where the only thing people were interested in was the F word and using sharpie to write the house number address on the outside of their house haha.

We had contacted into a lady at the food bank were we volunteer at and was able to make it over to her house this week. She is an organized hoarder and her house was sensory overload. She was broken. And searching for purpose. It astounds me daily how much love the Lord gives me for those I teach. It is REAL. We sat there for 2 hours with our arms around her as she cried and cried. I was reading in my setting apart blessing and one of the things it mentions is the chance to help others recognize who they are and what they mean to God. This week that opportunity came time and time again. It is SO humbling.  

Goodbyes are hard. When you leave an area you look back and really think about who you were there for. There is a 27 year old girl named Kristy who I know I needed just as much as she needed me. She grew up in the church but stopped going when her parents got a divorce. So many steps have been made from the first time we knocked on her door and she barely let us in, till yesterday when she came to church for the first time church in 8 years. Gosh how I love her. It is the GREATEST calling to be able to be there hand in hand with someone as they come closer to God and his gospel. On a mission there are lots of promises to you with gifts that you are given or blessings to help you and to be honest sometimes it is really hard to see those on regular bases. But with Kristy they could have not been more apparent. I know if not for anyone eles I was sent to Niceville for her.

I know that is how it is with all of in life. We all are given our personalities and hearts to help someone or something in the World for the better. And although its a life long pursuit I know God leads us to exactly where he needs us in life. I pray we can all trust that and have the courage to be the Sons and Daughters he needs! I know I have questions or doubts weekly and what it comes down to is clingy to our Father. He will hold and carry you.   I LOVE YOU I miss you! And I can't wait to see all your beautiful faces in 2 short weeks:)

Love, Sister Jackson

BROTHER PAULUS. He is a Mennonite that we visit. He is awesome. 

This is Rhonda from the email!

Hit the (3pointer) Quan

Hello my dear ones! 

This week i was honestly just full of love for the life i live and my Savior. I went to Crestview for an exchange with Sister Saunders and we witnessed miracles.

 We were lost and driving through the back roads/woods and i saw a guy in his 4XL Clippers Jersey playing basketball and i turned to Sister Saunders and said "DO you play basketball?!" And she said "Not really", i told her to stop the car, i rolled down my window and yelled " HEY! Can we play?!" Ha he looked at us like seriously? And but said sure. We pulled over and jumped out in our dresses and began playing. I said lets make a deal! If we win you have to listen to a message from us! He agreed. And let me tell you the Lord provided. Because neither Sister Saunders nor I have any basketball playing capability and for the first time we somehow made the shots over and over again and won! Hahah we both just looked at eachother in shock. His name was NiQuan. He turned off his jammin beats and put the ball down. So there we stood in the street as we taught him the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was peaceful and powerful. He had just lost his mother earlier that year and accepted the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon with hope and excitement. 

Us and the Destin Elders made Light the World shirts at Walmart and took whiteboards around the Commons (A big outdoor shopping center) and chased people down to write on our boards how they can spread Christs light this season. All while sharing our cards and videos with them. Super neat!

I see God's hand in my life daily. It is neat, painful, and rewarding as i grow to a place where i can recognize him more fully. If i know one thing, i know that this gospel brings joy. When i'm at my happiest it is because of the Joy i feel in Jesus Christ and the plan of happiness and progression for each one of us. There is more to this life than what we take it for. I love you all SO much. Sending so many hugs and kisses from Florida:)

Sister Jackson

Happy PEE-Day

Hi family!

It sounds like you all had the happiest of Thanksgivings! It was really neat to spend this Holiday on the mission! I miss you all dearly but there is nothing i'd rather be doing! Sue, a recent convert took us to YOGA that morning. AH my lanz it was so good. I have missed it so much. I was one happy missionary. In the beginning of  the class we all went around and introduced ourselves and I'm sure that was the first time they have ever had Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ attend:) It was well needed. 

We have been running with the new Church initiative of LIGHT THE WORLD. It is all about being Christ's hands here on earth and spreading his light. What a great calling we all have. I hope y'all find time to watch the video on mormon.org! It almost brings me to tears. 

I Love my Savior. I am grateful to have the opportunity to put myself in a place where growth is necessary everyday to make it. I am grateful for this Restored Gospel and the love and JOY that it brings. At the end of the day if nothing else, all i want is for His children to find more joy. 

I pray we can all hold strong to him and the impressions of our hearts. I know God needs Brave Daughters and Sons. I love him. 

So much Love,

Sister Jackson:) 

Camille in her Sunday best!

We helped a L.A family decorate for X-mas.

ALSO! MAN.....  Sometimes it hits you with how nutz the South is.It happened again this week.Most the houses we go into are real unsanitary and cluttered but I hit an all time low the other day. We walked into our investigators house and i was sitting down when I noticed the Couch was wet. There wasn't another place to sit so I thought well... here goes nothing. Meanwhile she is just talking our ears off. I smelt the cushion i was sitting on and sure enough i was 100% pee. I asked her if her dog was potty trained and she said yes. I didn't want to believe that i was there trying to teach a lesson as i sat in my investigators pee. The longer i thought about it there has been many occasions where she has gotten up from a lesson with wet pants. I'll admit iv witnessed some pretty filthily things in this house but this was the winner.  hahah Happy holidays!!

Thankful Hearts

Happy Holidays to my lovely family:) 

I don't have much time today but i thought i would just share 10 things i'm grateful for!

1. The simplicity of PB and Js that sustain me everyday:)

2. A man who had pity on me as i biffed it as i biked up Palm Ave... Hahah its a busy street. We laughed our heads off as i struggled to get back on  and crossed the street to talk to this man.  a few moments  into the conversation he said i saw you go almost go down over there, are you okay? It was clear he just felt bad for us but sent us to his ex gf appartment instead.. hey you take what ya can:)

3.Our investigators who take our investigators to the hospital during relief society because of knee pain from falling and smashing their head into the concrete from clubbin a few days prior.

4.The new skill of sliding our apartment lock to break in that was acquired this week when we lost the keys. I can now break into almost anything!

5.The SOUTH. It will always be a part of me.  

6. The absolute best support team back at home that i love with all that i am.

7.The faith God gave me  to serve a mission.

8.The pure and unlimited chance to talk to God, our heavenly Dad.

9. Sundays:)  

10. The redemptive power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yesterday Camille showed up to church in her pajamas and crocs. I was so so truly happy. Nothing is better than having someone you love so much come to church. I put my arm around her as we took the sacrament and as I sat next to her smoke stained clothes i couldn't help but feel so much gratitude for Gods plan. How it is our destiny to become more than who we are today. I looked a few rows up and saw Ray covered in tattoos. He is someone who we work with as well but has a lot of legal situations from his past life that he has to take care of first. A less active that we have also been working with came for the first time in 4 years. All of these people gathered together in one grand cause. To become MORE. 

Every single one of us fights our own battles in this life. But i feel so deeply of the love that our Savior Jesus Christ, has for us as we take his hand to reach tomorrow. I have felt of the power that is within God's plan for us to grow. To overcome. To progress. And to Become. This life has purpose and potential. I pray that we all may reach to Our Savior for strength to be who he wants us to be. I know that as we do this we will be filled with more love not only for others but for ourselves. Because you are going to love who you are becoming so much more than who you were. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of everything that truly matters in this life:)

I love you!

Sister Jackson

My happy place:)

Loads of stray dogs out here. Some are nicer than others.

Knocking the Socks Off

Hello Hello my favorite people. This week was a good week full of biking, dropped appointments, trailer parks and door knocking. All to find the one! 

I can't count on my two hands the number of times Sis Fox and I chase someone down a street to talk to them. Just this morning we left our car that was filling up with gas to chase a lady that was 2 blocks away. Although its work and half the time we are laughing our heads off at how ridiculous we look we almost always see miracles. On one occasion we were biking and i got of my bike to run to a girl who was a few blocks in front of us. She was 16 and was currently kicked out of school. When i asked if we could share a message with her that will change her life she said yes! We all walked backed together to her house and taught her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her life was absolutely nuts and she unloaded every thing that has ever happened to her and every wrong decision she has made. If anyone was lost, she was. When we got to the Book of Mormon she said "OH i remember that book! "Two guy missionaries came and taught me 6 years ago on my porch in Georgia." I got chills because i felt how much God truly prepares his children. How easy it is and would have been to just let her walk away. They next time we went to see her she said her Mom threw away her Book of Mormon and needed another one. One of the hardest things to see out here is how deep the adversary has a grasp on Gods children.

Sister Fox and i had set up and appointment with a lady in a trailer park for later that evening. When we came back her Sister's boy ran out yelling at us to go away. The Sister walked out and said "Yall need to leave!" I started explaining who we had talked to, and she said "you ain't talking to anyone here and slammed the door shut." We both just stood there. Hahah some days are simply...long.

BUT IT is worth it. Because every once in awhile you get to see first hand how God works. This morning during studies i couldn't stop thinking about a lady who i had glanced at as we drove to someones house 4 days earlier. I fought within my self for a good while then decided we should go. Even though it was P-day we went and knocked on that door. The lady was not interested but said we could try to help her friend who's life is absolutely falling apart. She told us that God must of sent us this morning. 

I love my Savior. I love this Gospel. I love you all with everything I am!

xoxo Sister Jackson

AMERICA

Happy Election day! I haven't watched media in 8 months so i honestly forgot this was happening untill someone said something today about it! Good luck America. This week was crayazy to say the least. From trying to help hoarders clean to someone trying to break into our apartment. We are all safe and its a wonderful life we live:)  

We had an Indian Pow wow and the whole zone came down and we did a family History Booth. It was awesome. I completely love the south. I help a 6'4 hairy 300 pound man from the backwoods find his lost family. I just looked at his as he talked to me and thought he could 100% be Hagrid's twin from Harry Potter.

Sister Fox and I are still out tracting the town trying to find those searching for more! God truly puts us right where he needs us.So many times we just walk away laughing because of the life we live. I sure love her. 

Something that we recently went over with our investigator Kat is our purpose here in Life. It is something that I love with my whole heart. Progression. We are here to become.

 What a beautiful plan that our God has given us. We ALWAYS have the potential to become more than who we are. 

I am grateful for the grace of our Savior that elevates each of us daily if we but reach out. 

I LOVE YOU ALL to the moon and back!

Sister Jackson

My 2 babies. When you train someone its mission lingo that they are your kids...and I am one proud momma:)

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.

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...

.

 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!!!!