Happy/Sads

In miller 13 we used to go around and say the happys and the sads from our day. So these are the happys and the sads:

Happy: we have a baptism planned for this week! Elio Mostacero (70 años) is the father of a member of our ward. He's jewish. He has his interview planned for tonight, so we'll see. :) He's ready, though.

Sad: I won't be here!

Happy: I'm heading to Huaraz! I've heard it's really beautiful there. Hna. Bakaitis was there for 8 months. Hna. Parque, Hna. Shearman's trainer, started her mission there with Rachael Bakaitis. My companion will be Hna. Mendoza, from bolivia. Her companion, Hna. Coronel, will come here to Primavera. Hna. Coronel was in my group. She's from Argentina.

Sad: I will really miss my district. We have now 4 hermanas, but Hna. Shearman is going to Salaverry and they're going to put Hna. Lamas in the other district in our zone. Hermana Parque will be in this district with Hermana Petherbridge. :) And one of the companionships of elders will come from the other district. I'll really miss everyone. Our district leader, Elder Pillajo is great. He's training Elder Spencer, who reminds me of me, when I first started out. :)

Happy: I got to talk to you for Christmas! It was so good to hear your voices and listen to you talk a little bit. :)

Sad: I still haven't received my package and I'm not sure when I will. Huaraz is about 8 hours from Trujillo... It looks like I should have asked for more tights, because it rains a lot there. We'll see.

Happy: I'm healthy and happy. :) Guess what?! I can do real push-ups now. And I actually have a little bit of muscle on my arms that you can see when I flex (crazy, huh?). Yeah, well, I thought it was exciting. :)

Sad: I'm feeling a little bit stressed because I have to finish packing! Yikes. And I'll have to travel through the night either tonight or tomorrow night to be in Huaraz in the morning. Yuck.

Happy: I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom on the earth. This is His Church, as he established it anciently, and it has been restored with prophets and apostles. The Book of Mormon is tangible evidence of this Restoration and of God's never-ceasing love for us, his children. I know the God lives. I know that Jesus Christ lives. They watch over each one of us and care deeply for all that we do. Jesus Christ came to earth to show us the way and to provide the means whereby we can become like God and return to live with Him. I know they love each one of us. I know that the Book of Mormon, as well the Bible, is the word of God. It contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through continual faith and repentance, we can make and keep sacred covenants that entitle us the the company of the Holy Ghost. This enables us to make the changes in our lives that are necessary and become what God would have us become. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's organization to help us become more perfect. I know that the Church is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and the Thomas Spencer Monson is the Lord's prophet and representative on the earth today. I know that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love each of you, and as you trust them, you will be happy. :)

Love, love, love, x 50 bajillion.

Hna. Jackson

¡Feliz Navidad!

Wow. The ultimate week in this ''cambio.'' and christmas and everything. We had interviews and training with the President this thursday, and the upcoming thursday all of the missionaries in the Trujillo area will be singing in the Plaza de Armas de Trujillo. Tuesday is all the missionaries from Chimbote and Huaraz. So our P'day this week is thursday, but we get to write home today, because we'll be having a devotional and practicing all day thursday, and then performing thursday night. It starts at 10 a.m. Hna. Lamas and I have to be in the capilla at 8 a.m. to check the toilet paper levels because it'll be in the Primavera chapel. And today after this our zone is cleaning the chapel. Woohoo. Reminds me of the good old days when I worked early morning custodial...

Also, next week we have p-day on tuesday (so I will be writing on tuesday), because the cambios are on wednesday. since 3 months is the longest any companionship is together, hermana lamas or I will be transferred.

I love President and Hermana turk. They are really fantastic. All of our leaders are, really. Our trainings are always awesome. For this presentation that the missionaries are doing we'll be singing ''seize the day'' from newsies in english and a song in spanish to the tune of ''do you hear the people sing'' from les miserables. How cool is that?! And sister Petherbridge will be doing a solo. Also, we'll be having different musical numbers for the devotional, and Hermanas Shearman, Parque, Lamas, and I will be performing one of them. Yikes. I'm thinking we're going to do a primary song. ''This is the Season'' probably, because it's easy and we can elaborate it. but we'll have to see. :)

I get to call you tomorrow (it may actually be wednesday or friday) for 5 minutes to coordinate when we're going to skype. It will be sometime sunday afternoon for 40 minutes, because we have church in the morning too and we have to be in our rooms in the evening.

Ay. My english is really deteriorating. I'm grateful for the gift of tongues, though. :)

I haven't been able to send letters because we haven't been to Serpost in el Centro these past few weeks for p-day. Tal vez this tuesday.

I hope that Mom and jon and kirsten are feeling better. I did send kirsti a card. What is impetigo?

Right now we're teaching a man who is Jewish ( i don't know if I've shared this already) and it's been really interesting to see how the book of Mormon really is a testimony to the Jews that jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the Messiah. (Oooh. Random Christmas wish: I want to hear Handel's Messiah! I'm musically starved.) We read with him 2 Nephi 25:17-19. I know that Jesus really is our savior, the savior and redeemer of the world. He was born in Bethlehem as the prophets fortold and he lived a perfect, sinless life. He suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross, died and resurrected, to redeem us from the effects of the Fall, from sin and from death. I know that he knows and loves each of us personally and I am humbled to be able to represent him as a missionary of his restored church. I know he lives.

Merry Christmas!

Hna. Jackson

hola

Primeramente: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIRSTI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There. I did it. (!!!) I remembered. :) Woohoo. I love you, K-bug. :)

This week we found out that Paula, who was baptized about a month ago, has ovarian cysts--more than 13. And she's only 13. :(

While we were contacting on...Thursday or Friday, I think it was...we met a woman who's husband is a member. We were talking to her about how we like peru and where we're from and she asked me if I was going to marry a peruano. ''uuuuuhhhh...'' And how cute our kids would be if I did ''cruzarme.'' Ay. We had a good laugh about that.

This week has been good. I can't think of anything particularly interesting...just life. Christmas is soon--I believe we can skype. Stay tuned. :)

I am so grateful that as a family we've always had family prayer and family scripture study and gone to church and paid tithing. And almost always had family home evening. We have our fair share of challenges, and it's hard because most people don't see them (becuse we're always in church :) ), but really, I'm beginning to understand a little bit of how greatly we've been blessed. There are a lot of parents who wouldn't (and don't) do these things because of the challenges that they've had, but ours have, and because of that, we have the tools to face our challenges. That's a really incredible blessing. Thanks, Mom and Dad. :) Seriously.

I love you all!

Hermana Jackson

¿La virgin María?

(Sorry, this is from last week...it didn't send...)

The other day a man passed us on the sidewalk and made some comment to my companion about how I looke d like th evirgin maria. Ridiculous. Ay. I hardly wear makeup anymore, I haven't shave d my leg sin a coons age, and let's not even think about my hair. Ugh.

Anyway, I don't know if I tol dyou, but our distric t now has four hermanas and t wo elders, which is a really interestig and unusual dynamic. Hnas. Shearman and Parque are in our district still, Eld. Pillajo is now district leader, and Eld. Spencer is in the newest group of greenies. And I only have 6 weeks left of training! Yikes!

Thanks to the activity days girls and sister Clark for their letters. :) So fun! and Regan, too. So amazingly consistent. :) I love hearing about how everyone is doing. Even if they're all married by the time i get back.

God is a God of miracles. From the finding of a lost toy to the saving of a los tsoul. This week was really hard, in that we haven't been seeing the fruits of our labors. However, one of our investigadors, Pilar, genuinely wants to be baptize dthis month .It kind of took us by surprise, but she seems to be happier and more patient with her daughter .it's wonderful how th egospel works in people's lives. a miracle.

love,

jane

I completely forgot about Thanksgiving!

Familia Mia!
I love you! How is life? You'll be pleased to know that i have almost caught up in my letter-writing, including a number of letters that i misplaced. I'm very pleased with myself. Liesl, I want to hear from you. If you have a boyfriend, I am entitled to know about it. It's been three or four weeks since you've written. :(
I completely forgot about Thanksgiving! Wow. I feel a little sad about it now. I want pie; they don't have it here. Hna. Lamas makes fun of me for how often i say that i want chocolate or ice cream...whih is about every time we pass a tienda....which is pretty often. ''¡Hermana Jackson! ¿Cuantos años tiene?''
I'm a little behind in my reading of el Libro de Mormón. I wanted to finish Alma 10 yesterday, but I'm in the middle of it right now. Yikes. i have to read about 100 pages this week.
I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he loves each of us with a perfect love, althoiugh he has a perfect understanding of all of our sins and faults. I know he lives and that it is throiugh him that we can have peace and happiness, and that his gospel has been restored through a prophet in our days. I love you all.

Love,
hna. Jackson

Nov. 21 letter

Familia Mia!

I got a postcard from my friend Rita from BYU! That was exciting. Also, a dearelder from Rachael Bakaitis and a couple of cards from Hermana Marybeth Tew in Nicaragua! Yay! I'm going to write my letters later today, so they won't be sent until next week.

Wow. Yesterday we were teaching Carlos, who is that father of Rodrigo and Maite, members of Barrio Primavera. Carlos has listened to the missionaries before, and we've been teaching his wife, Percila, but right now they aren't actually married and there are other complications. It was our first lesson with him and he talked a lot about how proud he is of his family and how his children are doing good things and going to church and such. Rodrigo was there during our lesson (he's starting his mission papers!) but he didn't say much. Toward the end of the lesson, I asked Rodrigo how he had received a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Restoration, and he shared a very brief testimony which was basically that he prayed, and he felt that it was true. It was really neat, because I'm certain Carlos had never heard this from his son and the conviction surprised him. Personal testimony is a really powerful thing. I would like your personal testimonies--and how you received them--as my Christmas present, yeah? I just decided. :) Please and thank you!

I love you all very very much. I want you to know that I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do as well. That is why we're here and why we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Study it and live it, and you will be happy. I can promise that.

Love,
Hna. Jackson

cambio=transfers

Familia!

Primeramente, instructions for mailing packages. I must have been receiving inspiration, because I brought them with me. They're in spanish, so bear with me. The cost of the contents of the package can't be more than $100, all electronics received from out of the country are taxed (?), only food that is packaged commercially (i think that's the jist of it..), and I can't receive used clothing or shoes. Other than that, it's preferable that you send it through the national postal service of Peru so as not to incur taxes. If you send it privetely, the mission isn't responsible for any additional taxes, etc. I don't have any other information that that. Let me know before you send anything, okay? I'll make a list of things I can't get here.

Thanks Regan, Dad, and Gaetana for your letters. I've responded to your other letters, Regan, and I'm sending that letter today to my sister to send to you. I still have to write Gaetana, Brandon, and Regan (again--you are so on top of this letter thing!) next week. Almost caught up! Letters to everyone else are being sent today.

Wow. I can't believe it's already been 6 weeks. Mi primer cambio en la misión! completa! Weeks that we have cambios we'll have P-day on tuesday, just so you know.

One of the things that I've realized, which is really obvious, but sometimes isn't consciously acknowledged and therefore we don't apply the knowledge that we have, is that I'm happiest when I'm consistently working and seeking to improve. It requires a lot of concentration and energy, but that is when I'm most successful and feel the best about myself. When I'm consciously evaluating what I'm doing every day. I know that the message of the Restoration is our pivotal message to the world. Now we have the authority to perform the ordinances that bring happiness and salvation.

love,

Hna jackson

My first baptism!

¡Familia mia! This Saturday was really lovely. Paula, a lass of 13 (don't ask me where 'lass' came from. my english is getting rustier by the second. Except on mondays, when I speak way too much of it), had her baptism. It was a little bit stressful, because we weren't entirely organized. we had a somewhat last-minute change in the schedule so that her mother, Clara, could attend, and it was right on top of a stake leadership meeting, so all the people who were supposed to help us were in the meeting. And then, their family dog, Toti, died that afternoon, so when we went to pick them up, Paula, Clara, and Carmen (paula's abuelita who is a recent convert) were all in tears and not at all ready to leave. But everything went alright. :) We had a talk on faith and repentance by una jovencita in our barrio, Ashly, who has helped us a lot, and another by Hermana Irma, who is Ashly's aunt and whose family is very missionary-work centered. They're great. And then I gave a musical number 'Cuando me bautice,' (when I am baptized) which is, like, one of my favorite primary songs and I had been memorizing. It was actually quite lovely. I sang acapella, so I could pick what key it was in. That's one thing that I do like here. But I always have to sing melody--almost never alto or tenor or bass--because very few people here can carry a tune. :)

I can't believe that I've already been here for a month! It's crazy. I should be applying myself more. Pdte. Turk has challenged us to read el Libro de Mormón before Christmas. I'm in second nefi! I read so slowly in Spanish! I find that I do understand quite a bit, except in Isaiah they use a lot of unusual words. I'm just really glad that I'm familiar with the Book of Mormon in English. Yikes. I'm afraid that I'll never finish, but I read for at least 30 minutes a day, and I'm trusting that my reading will speed up and I'll be able to complete it. It's amazing how you can recieve personal revelation while reading the scriptures in a different language. I think that it's a blessing so that I can use my personal study time to read in spanish and achieve the goal. :) I'm so glad that as a family we've always practiced the principles of reading the scriptures (especially the book of Mormon), praying, and attending church. Those really are the essentials to build a testimony. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I love you all! Have a wonderfully fantastic week!

hna. Jackson

31 October 2011

Wow. I don't have very much time to write, but I want you to know that I love you. I'm super glad, Donny, that you're reading the Book of Mormon lots. And Kirsti, for your choir stuff, and Jon and Heather and Danielle for being awesome high-schoolers and juggling everything. And Liesl, foralways having something crazy and random going on. Thanks, Mom and Dad for everything you do to support me.

We have our first baptism scheduled for this week! Paula is 13 and really awesome. I'll let you know how it goes. It's amazing to be a representative of Jesus Christ and try to do what he would do and say what he would say.

I only have, like, 3 minutes...

(less, actually) but I want to tell you that I love you and I appreciate your prayers. I hope that you are all doing well. Thanks for your emails and your letters, and I'll write you back as soon as possible. Remember that the most important htings are the little things. Study your scriptures, pray fervently, and attend church, and you will receive the answers to your questions and the strength to do the most important things.

With love,

Hermana Jackson.

First Week in Trujillo

Conference was awesome! I want to know hear from ALL OF YOU about your favorite talks, familia mia.
Thanks, Regan, Brandon, Heather, and Blair for your letters/dear elders. I got them when I got to trujillo.

Hna. Lamas, my trainer is from bolivia. She speaks English and French and is 26 and really smart. And short. :)
My ward is awesome I'm in Primavera, Primavera Zone (and ward and stake).
Mañana we have a conference with Elder Waddell, and the Hermanas in our zone are singing. Yikes. We rehearsed today. My district and zone is awesome--I don't have very much time to write though. Hna. Sherman is in my district otra vez. All of the Hnas in our zone are training new new missionaries, except one companionship which is going to be a threesome with hna petherbridge when she and the other newbies arrive.

I'm comprehending a surprising amount of spanish. Contacting is hard, but it'll get better. It's really about contacting people right off the bat, and really trying to feel heavenly fathers love for them, which comes naturally as you testify of it. :)

I don't have to cook or do laundry here. Loco, no? our pensionista is really nice and all the food here--mas o menos--is good. I still eat really fast.

Pdte. and Hna turk are awesome. She updates her blog all the time. we're on there again today. :)

I'll send you instructions for how to send packages sometime...I'm not expecting any, so it's all good.
This week was great! A little rough, but when I am actually listening to people--and to the Spirit--and teaching, it is so AWESOME. You can really feel the love that Heavenly Father has for each person, and I find that once I get over my initial fear of talking, I really want to listen and understand and resolve the person's concerns. We've contacted a number of the investigators that the elders before were teaching, and some other older investigators. As of right now, we have one investigator who committed to a baptismal date (22nd), but she couldn't attend church this sunday because she had to travel with her family. We're going to have a home evening with her and her mother and her grandmother (who is a recent convert) tonight. She's been keeping her commitments, and we have high hopes that she´ll be progressing and attending church with us this week. She actually asked us when we were coming back the last time when we were leaving. Yay!

love love love!
Hna. Jackson

My daughter speaks Spanglish/ arrived 3 October 2011

Dear family,

I am here in Trujillo. We got here at about 9:00pm yesterday, all is well. Last night the missionaries, and President and Sister Turk picked us up from the Airport. Then we had dinner and rested in the hotel, today we have a bunch of trainings and I will meet my trainer later this afternoon. I am tired, but fantastic!!!

I will email you more next Monday.

Love,

Hermana Jackson

Dearest familia,

I love you! Thank you so much for your support and prayers. Mom, it´s great to get the updates on everyone. I did get your dearelder and the one from dr. Davis this week, as well as one from my friend Brandon (if you´re reading this, Brandon, you are free to use my dating rant for whatever you want. I´m flattered) and a card from Regan Baker! Yay! Thank you so much. I felt very loved when I read all of them this morning. I won´t have time to respond today to everything, but I´ll try to next week. Today was crazy. Some of us got our ID cards, so we spend the entire morning at migrations. And then we had the temple in the afternoon. I´m a little bitter, because i´ve been wearing a skirt all day, and I haven´t had time to do laundry. it´s okay though. Bitter is probably too strong a word. :)

Okay, before I forget, I want to let Donny know that I did not forget his birthday, except while I was writing emails. HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY, DONNY!!! I love you!!!! and I´ll try to send you something next week. Life is crazy. But I haven´t seen any llamas or tarantulas yet. :)

My companionship is great! Hna Shearman is pretty much the greatest at everything. She is our coordinating sister. We´ve had to deal with some baggage from our last companionship, but we´re doing alright. I really just need to be more patient and express love more. Which are possible when the Lord helps you to change your heart. Miracles of the Gospel! Hna. Grow really struggles with Spanish, but she is SO patient and so sweet and has so much faith. She always adds so much to our lessons. I just love her.

Okay. I have 5 minutes. thanks so much mom for your email about my blessing. I got it right before I had to log off last week, so I didn´t get to read it until today. I really needed that, though. And for your advice, dad. :) I love you both!

Can I just tell you for two minutes the testimony that I have of obedience? Jonny and Donny, I hope that when you serve missions (and before and after), you will be as perfectly obedient to the counsel of your leaders as humanly possible. I wish that I could describe the difference that I see in myself, the difference that I can see in other missionaries, and the difference that I can tell in RMs. If you think that no one will notice your behavior, you are dead wrong. You can tell in the way people talk about missionary work, their attitude about the standards of the Church, and their testimony of the gospel. I am inspired by returned missionaries that I know were obedient, because of the advice they´ve given me and the attitude that they have about their missions. It makes ALL the difference. If ye receive not the spirit, ye shall not teach, or do anything worthwhile. Nefi and the army of helaman are some of the best examples. Every command with exactness!

I pray for each of you every night, that you will have what you need and be kept spiritually and temporally safe. I love you more than you know!

Your sister-daughter-friend,

Hermana Jane Elizabeth Jackson

Jane teaching in Peru

Dearest Familia,

First, I sent you a letter by pouch which you should receive in the next week or so. If you want to write me by pouch, the address is:

Hermana Jane Jackson

Lima Perú MTC

Misión Perú Trujillo

P.O. Box 30150

Salt Lake City, UT 84130

I don´t know how good the mail system is...if you´ve sent me anything, I haven´t received it, aside from Jon´s dearelder. After this week (my fourth--ahh!), you should just address it to my mission. The P.O. box is the same. I DID get a letter from my dear dear dear Rachelle Romney! It arrived Thursday morning from Chile, so I´ve had to wait a week to read it. It was worth the wait, though. Thank you, Rachelle, even though you will never read this.

Proselyting was super hard for me this last time. We went out contacting, just knocking doors and trying to teach people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Usually Hermana Cépeda and I teach well together, but I don´t know. Maybe I just have an anxiety issue to overcome. It was a good experience, though, and it was awesome to hear everyone else´s stories in our district meeting afterwards. I just love them.

I´ve been trying to speak the language more in my everyday life. Our districts are switching again--our latin companions left yesterday--and none of the old hermanas have native speakers. There are ten new hermanas coming in--five latinas and five...gringas.... My new district is the only one where the elders won´t have latin companions again. I´m in a trio again. :) With Hermana Shearman and another hermana, Hermana Grow. Sadly, we won´t have any native roommates either because there´s only one extra bed in our room. It´s okay, though. I am sad that there are going to be changes, because hermana´s Robison, Hoffman, and I get along so well, but I love hermana shearman and I´m sure I´ll love Hermana Grow and I know there are more things for me to learn from them.

This afternoon we have our tour of lima! Every three weeks the older missionaries get to take a tour. Usually, this means that we wouldn´t get to go to the temple, but Presidente Cavanaugh said that we could if we wanted to and we were back for lunch, so we went, and it was awesome! :)

Familia, I just want you to know how much I love you and how grateful I am to have this gospel and have this opportunity to share it with other people. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I learn so much every day. Sometimes I struggle to have faith in my ability to do this work, to learn Spanish, to study and teach effectively, to be sufficiently humble and obedient and charitable and patient--oh, goodness, do I have to learn patience!--but last week I was thinking about it and I just felt that I needed to remember the promises that the Lord has made to me and trust in them and keep moving forward. Intellectually, I know that. The application of the knowledge is sometimes difficult. Sometimes I look for really obvious signs of approval--I think I rely too much on what other people think of me at times--and when I don´t see any, I wonder if I´m making a difference or doing what I´m supposed to be doing. But then I remember what I know. I know that the Lord has called me here. I know that this is where I´m supposed to be. I know that the Lord fulfills his promises, and that He has a work for me to perform. I know that if I live worthy of the Spirit, I will be able to help further the Lord´s work and do what he would do. I have to trust the promises that the Lord has made to me, in the scriptures and in other places. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as I honor my covenants and keep the commandments, the Lord will pour out blessings upon me and upon my family. I know this. I don´t always feel it, but I know it. :) And I know that it is true for all of you as well. Press forward, with steadfast faith in Christ, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end, and the Father will not withold from you the blessing of eternal life. This is his kingdom and his gospel, and it will go forth. I know that the book of Mormon is the word of God and that by studying it daily, we will be blessed to have the power to move forward. I love you!

God be with you!

Barrels of love,

Jane

I´m not even sure what to write. So much happens in one week. Thank you soooooooooo (x 50 billion) much for your dearelder, Jon. I read it this morning. It was EXACTLY what I needed. And Li, for your emails. :) I really need to focus on the most important happenings, which are the gospel related ones.

Probably the single most important and awesome happening was on Saturday. We got to go out of our little bubble and teach people the gospel! In Spanish! ...or attempt to do so. We went with our Latin companions and an adult. We had a list of names of inactives to go visit. Hermana Cepeda and I went with one of the MTC teachers and spent most of the time walking around trying to find addresses. Whoopee. I have to admit that I didn´t open my mouth as much as I should have. Hna. Cepeda and the maestro were talking in spanish most of the time to each other, so I spent a little to much of the time in my ''observation mode'' instead of actively (at least attempting) to participate in figuring out what we needed to do. We bore our testimonies to a couple of people, and there was one place where I felt prompted to ask if we could come inside and say a prayer with her (she was making dinner) but I didn´t say anything. I´m kicking myself for that one. The really neat experience was when we knocked on the door of a compound looking for an inactive and they directed us to this family that hadn´t ever met the missionaries and they let us teach them the first lesson! It was awesome. They seemed genuinely interested in learning more, and we invited them to church the next day, set up a return appointment for some other missionaries to teach them this saturday, and left them a book of mormon with a commitment to read and pray about it. It was really neat. I have got to be more engaged, though. I mean, when you´re talking about things that can change people´s lives, you don´t have time to waste. Only 18 months to help as many people as you can feel the Savior´s love for them and open up an eternity in opportunity to progress. It´s so important to remember that.

Dearest family, I want to share with you my testimony of the power of prayer and the power of the Atonement. I have about as much patience as...well, I´m not sure there´s anything as impatient as I am... and I have far too many really strong opinions about far too many silly things. :) or I care too much about forcefully putting forth my ideas, and not enough about listening to and understanding other people´s perspectives. or all of the above. I have been praying so hard for humility and patience and charity and humility and a desire to be obedient and patience and all of those things, and it amazes me how much the Lord has helped me to put aside the things that bug me about the CCM or other people and to listen and to appreciate. It really comes back to charity and gratitude. Charity is always the solution. It never faileth. When we truly seek to understand, to help, to support, to encourage, to SERVE, everything else comes. Obedience comes, a willingess to listen comes, humility comes. Gratitude is a practical application of humility. When I remember all the reasons I have to be grateful for someone or something, and when I find things to appreciate, my irritation leaves. But prayer is such an important part of that. When I humble myself enough to ask for the Lord´s help, I receive the benefits of his Atonement--the Holy Ghost changes my heart and I have less of a desire to do evil and more of a desire to do good continually.

I love you all and I hope that all is well with you. I´m praying for you. :) sorry I don´t have any pictures this week--I didn´t go back to the room to get my camara after an impromptu meeting we had. next week, hopefully. :)

Love love love love love,

Hna. Jackson

soospishusss.....

¡Hola, familia!

I haven´t received any mail yet, because our temple time is in the afternoon and our emailing time is now, in the morning. Entonces, my district leader, will check it every preparation day, but I don´t know when when I´ll get mail because we haven´t really worked all that out. Thanks for your email, Grandma. Yeah, I´m in peru now. :)

Wow. This week has been crazy. I don´t even know where to begin. Hermana Cepeda is the best! She is incredibly diligent and loving and just about every good quality ever. Love her! She´s the coordinating sister for the Latina´s. The other two latina´s in our group are Hna. Calderon, Hna. Hoffman´s companion, and Hna. Balladares, Hna. Robison´s companion. They are super funny. We´ve taught them a few words in English, one of which is ´´Bashfull´´, and the other of which is ´´suspicious,´´ which they say ´´soospishusss....´´ We also have a standing competition as to who has the best companion, so whenever any of us does something nice or intelligent or anything, someone always says, ´´¡MI compañera!´´ It´s fun.

The language. Wow. It´s impossible not to feel humble all the time, because you can´t even speak like a normal person. haha. Usually when we´re talking about physical things, we can demonstrate everything out--I don´t think I´ve ever gesticulated so much in my life--but when it comes to ideas and the gospel, it´s rather on the difficult side of things. In addition to teaching with our north american (district) compañeras in class, we also have companionship study and teach at the ´´TRC´´with our Latina compañeras every day. Sometimes, it can be really frustrating to try to explain what´s in your head, because it´s not like you can revert back to english. That´s what´s so great though--you really have to be able to express yourself in spanish. It´s funny, because sometimes I try to think in Spanish, but i can´t because I don´t have the vocabulary. The other day, I was trying to say something to Hna. Cepeda and I had to stop, talk it out in English, and then translate it into Spanish as well as I could. Haha. Oh, man. It´ll get better, though. It already is. Generally by our last class, which begins before dinner and then goes until planning at 9, Hnas. Robison, Hoffman and I have laughing fits. It´s a pretty good way of dealing with our stress, but I think our maestro, Hno. Meza, thinks we are insane. He and our other teacher, Hno. Soto, are really nice though.

Our district is also really great. Hna. Robison is going to Equador Guayaquil South, Hna. Hoffman is going to Cuzco, and one of the 7 elders (Elder Savage) is going to... I think Lima East? Anyway, everyone else (the other six elders and I) is going to Trujillo! So that´s fun. I just love all of them. They are great. Soooo funny. Sometimes you really feel the age difference, you know? I´m trying to pick a funny story to tell you really quickly....okay, here´s one. We were going over district goals and one of them was to be more punctual (and help the Latins to be, because it really isn´t in their culture, you know?) and one of the elders was talking about how difficult it was to get anywhere on time because his companion takes forever in the morning. Then we were talking about how it´s difficult to get ready as an Hermana because there´s just so much to do, and Elder Cook told us, ´´oh man, if I was a girl, i would be late to everything! If you hermanas are ever late to anything, I don´t think I´d hold it against you.´´ And then elder Guymon said, ´´yeah, if I were a girl, I´d be four hours late every day. i´ve done shows before, and I´ve had to put on makeup and let me tell you, I am not good at eyeliner! It takes me forever!´´

Yes, they´re great.

Studying the gospel and spanish is awesome! you should all go on missions

Adios!

Hna. Jackson!

Well, the past couple days have been really busy! But fun, tambien. It was great to get to talk to you yesterday. Jon, Heather, and Danielle, I´m sorry we couldn´t :( I hope your meet went well, though! I don´t know how to use this keyboard, so this will be all one paragraph. Well, traveling yesterday was...fun... Really, it wasn´t too bad. It can never be too bad when you have tons of young people to entertain you. I got to know some of the elders better. There are so many fun people here. Love it! I will miss our old district and zone and friends, but there are always new ones! Hna. Petherbridge didn´t get her visa, along with about a dozen other people, so they are still in Provo. :( We miss her, but hopefully she will join us here, and if not, Hna. Shearman and I will see her in Trujillo!!! We arrived in Lima a little after eleven, and then we had to go through immigration, and then someone picked up one of the elders, elder Massey´s bag because it looked like theirs, so we were waiting around forever until there was only one bag left and it wasn´t his, it was this Garcia person who took his. Poor fellow. Anyway, once we figured out that that had happened it was probably around midnight. And then we wen´t through customs, which wasn´t really anything significant, and then we got on a bus and drove through lima to the barricade--okay, that totally isn´t the word i´m looking for, but that´s okay--that is the CCM. High walls, three buildings, pretty landscaping, and I don´t really know what else. we arrived between one and two in the morning. There was another group that came earlier and another that came later--like around 5:30--but up at 6:30! Siempre! It´s good though. It´s best just to adjust and not waste time. In my room there are six hermanas--three american and three hispanic. So each of us has a native companion, but we split up to go to class (obviously, the natives already speak español). My companion is Hermana Cepeda, from Lima. She´s super nice. I like her. Sister Hoffman and Sister Robison, of Sandy and SLC respectively, are my companions the rest of the time. Everything is a little confusing here, because we just got a new president, President Cavanaugh, because the other president had to go back to the States for medical reasons. So, a lot of the time we don´t really know what´s going on, or what we´re going to be doing ten minutes later. It´s cool though. :) I´m sure it will get better. We have ´´free time´´ this afternoon, so we can unpack and get settled and everything. That reminds me of a thought-provoking story that our bus driver told us on the way up to SLC yesterday morning. He was talking about a couple of golfers who were friends (the names had absolute no significance for me, so i don´t recall them). Anyway, the one was asked if he though his friend would ever win an MBA golf tournament, and he said no. when his friend asked him why, he told him that it was because he never practiced in the off season. He never worked consistently to become better, so he would never be good enough to win. our driver related that to life and missionary work in that what we do with our ´´free time´´ is often a better indicator of success than what we do when we have to work. He mentioned something from a talk by Eld. Christofferson, which was soemthing about work preparing you for leisure and leisure preparing you for work. So if you don´t feel like working after doing something ´leisurely´ you probably should pick different activities. I thought that was interesting. I´m really grateful for the opportunity I have to improve how i use my time. I had another thought I wanted to share, but I´ve forgotten it. Oh! I´m trying to follow Hna. Bakaitis´s advice and speak en español as much as possible. It´s fun. I can´t beleive we have six weeks here--it´s feels like I know the people I knew for 3 weeks so well, I´m not sure i can even handle how well I´ll know my district after 6 weeks. Yikes. :) Anyway, I love you! Adios! Hna. Jackson

tocar la bateria

Hola lovely familia!

I feel ridiculously peppy when I write emails, which is probably a good thing.

So, we met our new teacher, who(m?) we had already met, but not as our teacher. Can I just say how weird (and very humbling) it is to have people who are so young teach you? Hno. Crawley is about a week older than I am, and he's been back from his mission an even shorter time than Hno. Pitcher. We're the first district he's taught at the MTC. Anyway, when we were practicing the verb "gustar" (to please) which is how you say you like things en espanol, he told us that he likes to play the drums, which is "tocar la bateria" (sp?), which can also mean "touch batteries." I thought it was funny, so I wrote it down for your enjoyment. :)

Anyway, I don't have much time--we're meeting our district to head up to the temple in, like, ten minutes. This week has been great--a little less tough. We're getting into the routine of things. I'm sorry I don't have time to respond to al lthe emails (thanks, Mom, for the dearelder, and Jon for your letter. Also for Rachael's and Bro. Bless's letters. They were great.) It's really been impressed upon my mind the importance of having charity. Which is something I feel really strongly about anyway, but Hno. Pitcher has been telling us that what really matters as we practice and role play is that you feel a real love for your investigators. And I've been telling myself that my biggest problem is the language, and not being able to say what I want to say in a comprehensible manner--something I haven't had an issue with since I was about 2. :) But really, if you really want to know what your investigators needs are and you really want to be able to meet those needs, you will be able to convey that through your expression and through your spirit. And the Lord will help you do the rest. But, oh my goodness it requires a lot of humility and charity and more humilityx50billion.

Anyway, I HAVE to go. I love you! And I'll respond to your mail asap.

:)

buckets of love,

Hna. Jackson

"Have I ever told you that I know, like everyone?"

Thanks Mom, Heather, and Dani for the letters! And all of you for the emails. Savannah sent me a letter via dearelder.com (THANK YOU!), which reminded me that I totally hadn't told you about that (or have I? I can never remember these things. I know it's crossed my mind). Anyway, You go to the website (dearelder.com) and you can send me a letter that will be put in my mailbox. All the benefits of email, except I have more than a half-hour to think about them. :) I'm sorry I probably won't be able to respond separately to all your emails. At least not this week. DearElder does cost to send to South America, but you still can. It's probably better than snail mail (not that you should ever use that as an excuse not to write me real letters). Anyway, I'm definitely sending off responses to Dani and Heather today, so be ready. :)

So, as the subject line indicates, I have met about 50 billion people that I know here. And when I say 50 billion, I really mean, like, a dozen. But really. I TOTALLY forgot to tell you the Very Important News: Hermana Marybeth Tew and Sister Katelyn Sneed were both here with me! My beloved roommates! Hna. Tew has left for the Guatamala MTC, and Sister Sneed is in Indiana (!!!!!), but it was awesome running into them while they were here!
I also met:
a couple girls from my freshman ward, Sisters Stevensen (-son?) and Fors
my coworker, Jorge Jimenez, who tutors here
a guy from my calc class, Joe Patten, who is the tutor for my zone (what?)
a guy from my summer ward last year, Porter Hunt, who teaches here
a girl I was in choir with, who totally didn't recognize me
Rachelle's friend, Eric Wells, who is a teacher here
Anthony what's-his-face (no offense) from Columbus that I met, like, once.
people I know that I've forgotten I've met
other random individuals I recognize from the dorms and classes. I'm tellin you: BYU and missions make a worldwide church a pretty small thing indeed. It's kinda freaky. Not gonna lie.

Things have been easier this week. I don't feel like I'm in quite so much of a perpetual daze. :) Our little (or maybe big...) companionship does a lot of inventories. I'm finding out all of these things about myself, well, most of them are things I already knew about myself that I needed to work on, but now I'm like, "BOY, do I need to work on that." It's pretty humbling, let me tell you. It's good though. :)

Our teachers are fantastic. Well, at least one of them. :) Hno. Pitcher has been teaching us, and Hno. Crawley has been posing as our investigator Rafael (we've taught him four lessons). We found out he was our other teacher yesterday. Yeah. I mean, he totally has an RM aura, so I wasn't super surprised, but yeah. So he knows how truly awful my Spanish is. And my Spanish teaching. Ugh. :) He's teaching us tonight, though. I'm sure we'll learn a lot. I really love learning here. classes are so engaging, even when I'm exhausted, I can't fall asleep. Even when I kinda want to. It's great. And the 8 fundamentals are even better than the Spanish. PMG keeps me sane. :)

Anyway, gotta go! the Gospel is fantastic and the path to happiness. Never forget that. I love you very very very very much! x50 billion!

Love love love,
Hna. Jackson

"Mi hermana vive en Booffalo" aka Jane's first letter!

Hola!

Whew. Day four and it feels like we've done so much already. I have two companions, and they are wonderful, Hermanas Petherbridge and Shearman. We get along really well. They speak much better spanish than I do--we've all had some espanol previously. It's fantastic.

I don't even know where to begin. I still feel like I'm in a little bit of a daze. Since this is our first week, our preparation day is today, but normally it's on fridays. I'm very very tired, and I don't have very much time to write, as our scheduled laundry time is coming up. I'm a little worried, Mom, I still haven't cried--I'm afraid I'm going to hit some sort of wall and just break down. Hopefully it will be a more smooth transition, though. :) I think I'm kind-of in high stress management mode. Yesterday I did have a laughing fit, though. Li, they could rival yours. We were practicing to teach an investigator, Rafael. Hna. Sherman was being Rafael, and she said that she had family in New York, in Buffalo. Except she said it with a Spanish accent, so it was "boofalo." Yeah. I lost it. And my face was super red, since I was laughing, so Hna. Petherbridge kept looking at me and laughing too. It was bad. Fortunately, there were no laughing fits when we were supposed to teach. I'm grateful though. I've prayed to be able to laugh at myself and be optimisitc and good humored. And I'd rather laugh than cry, I suppose. :)

I still haven't slept all the way through the night. Fortunately, our room is cold. My skin is doing better--I've been medicating and hydrating and all that good stuff. Eczema is no fun. Oh! all three of us sleep on the top bunks. :) our roommates are also spanish speaking and a trio/threesome/whatever you call it. They're super nice, and they're really commited to being obedience, because president brown said that obedience brings miracles, and they want all the help they can get. It's fantastic. I need to do better to be more perfectly obedient.

There are two new districts in our zone. Our is district A. We have 8 elders. They are way funny. We love them already. Not just because they're funny, they're good people. :) One of them, Elder Sorenson, reminds me of Jon. haha. In the other new district, district B, there  are two elders who are going to peru! one is going to trujillo also. Oh! All three of us Hermanas are going to Trujillo! It's awesome. We're way excited. We leave the 24th. Interestingly, we are the only Hermanas in our zone. Oh! and Elder Kleinhenz (I don't know how to spell that) of our stake is a district leader in my zone! Crazy, huh? I recognized the name, and he looked familiar, even though I don't really know any of their family.

We are learning so much so fast! We've learned how to testify and pray en espanol. I need to practice much much more, but it's really cool. The english-spanish dictionary is my best friend. Seriously. I love the dictionary.

I'm sorry this is such a random conglomeration of thoughts--not very many thoughts, even. Also, I am going to send you a written letter today. I just have to actually sit down and write. I've meant to, but it's been very busy. :)

Before I go, I just want to bear my testimony of the power of prayer. I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and rewards us for the righteous desires of our hearts, especially when we express them to him. I am very grateful for that. It's been a lifesaver in my life so far, in my experience thus far in the MTC, and I know it will be in the future. Sister Hinckly has a quote that say something like "true spirituality...requires us to get in touch with our Heavenly Father every day of our lives." I think that is so true. I am so grateful for the support of all of you, without which my service as a missionary would not be possible. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and yours. He loves all of us very much. I have a huge testimony of the power of being in his service--the power it has to affect change in our own lives, and the power he gives us to help others change their lives. It's what mortality is all about. I'm so grateful that I can focus on this great work for 18 months. I love you all! Please write me! letters are better than emails, but I'll take what I can give. I love you, and I'm praying for you. :)

 

con amor,

Hna. Jackson