Pushing My Hardest from the Intersection of Elder and Cool!

I got to help build a helicopter, we had zone pictures, we went to a yummy steakhouse, the intersection of "Cool" and "Elder" and some other fun times! ​

 

 I can't believe in 7 days I'll be giving you a big ol' hug!!! I can't wait! That will be so much fun!!  I love you and dad so much and I am so excited to see you. I plan on going as hard as I can this week. I am really excited because I think (and am praying) that our investigator Crystal R. will be getting baptized in the next week, on my last Sunday here in the mission! It's going to be awesome! 

It will be so nice to see Dad again, I am sure. I sure love that guy and am excited to see him too. He is great. Man, being on a plane that long unnecessarily would be awful. I'm glad you endured it well and made it safely! 

I think I will do cheer, but like you say as a side thing. I really want to succeed in my major at BYU so I will be doing all I can to get good grades. I feel so much more confident with school now and I feel that I can be a lot more wise and judicial with my time. 

This week was great! I really enjoyed MyPlan this week. It really taught me a lot about preparing for the future. I feel a lot more comfortable and confident. I enjoyed the approach they took to it as it was more about having an attitude of faith and continuing discipleship. It will be a great help to the adjustment of returning home. I have really felt the Spirit help me these last few weeks. He has helped me see that I can keep growing greatly these last few days of my mission. I am pushing my hardest and want to "leave it all on the field". 

I really enjoyed reading in Matthew 8:17 where it talks about Christ taking our infirmities. I visualized Him physically taking these infirmities from these people. A lot of the infirmities that He took were awful. I can only imagine the bravery and love it would take to willingly take upon Himself those terrible pains and weaknesses and infirmities. The love He has is amazing. I hope I can show my love for Him by being obedient!

I love you tons!! 

Love,

Elder Jackson :)

It sure is getting close! It's weird that I have less days than Elder Broadhead has months, or even transfers! And yes, that is so cool about seeing the Mullens!

I'll admit though, I still don't feel like I am going home. It is weird to describe, but I don't think it has hit me yet!

That is so cool about the Mission President. It's a small world. So there is a boy in our ward (our Bishop's son actually) who is serving his mission in Guatemala. He just got a new mission president. The new president is the Moreno Valley Stake President's brother, President Schumway. He is from Elko. The stake president's son is also serving a mission in Guatemala, just a different mission. I'm sure the returned mission president you met was the one who was replaced by our stake president's brother! Small world eh? That is way cool! 

This week was another great one. There really are no such things as bad weeks when you are a missionary though. I love being out here. All of our hard work has seemed to pay off and we were able to pick up some awesome new investigators (including Crystal C., an investigator I had taught when I was here in this area last year!). It was way cool! We also had 3 people come to church, which is always a wonderful blessing. There should be quite a few baptisms coming up here in the next few weeks and months!

I was studying a lot for a talk I gave this week. I am still geeking out over Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk called "The Voice of Warning". It really paints super clearly that if we are to truly live the gospel, we must share it. I believe the two are reciprocal and cannot be done without each other. Ezekiel 33 shows very well that our neighbors' blood is on our heads if we do not sufficiently warn them. I think that is quite easy as a missionary, but I admit, that would be a little more challenging as a "regular member", but it is nonetheless important. We have to let love be our motive in sharing the gospel, and if we do not I don't think it ever comes across as effective. If we don't have love motivate us, I think that is where the fear of opening our mouth comes from. It connected for me to 2 Corinthians 8:9 where it says that Christ was rich but became poor (performed His Atonement) for us so that we through Him can too be made rich. If we are willing to do what He asks He will transform us. We can work all we want but it is only through Christ that we can leave poverty. Once we are lifted from poverty's grasp, it becometh us to let our fellowman how they too can be lifted by Christ. If we don't I feel that we are as dross and are as hypocrites. We must love not only God, but our neighbors. We have a serious obligation to warn.

Here are some pictures of a disgustingly huge truck we saw this week! Why some people like trucks that big, I don't know.

I hope you enjoy your time in KY! I love you so much!

Love,

Your Elder Jackson :)