Email #39...Monday, November 15, 2010

wow, sounds like it has been quite a trip being there in Monticello
fam... i hope that the funeral was beautiful, i bet it was! and you are
right mom, no worries... no one will remember what was said...
it will just be the feeling. the peaceful feeling that he is now in a
comfortable place, that he is with his loved ones, and that we can live
together after this life. i won't lie, it has been hard thinking about
his death though. i was very close to grandpa, and was thinking about
all the memories that i have had with him. thank heavens for eternal
life!

well this week has definitely not been easy... its been one of the
longest/shortest weeks of my life. this one week has felt like the whole
last transfer with my best friend Elder Gibbs. i really do miss being
comps. with him. but you gotta move on! we have been doing pure
contacts the last six days.... we have gotten so many addresses and
made many appointments with the people, but practically none of them
were home, so we just gotta keep searching for those who really want
the gospel. crazy story this week, we got an appointment with this
young man, went to his house Wednesday and he wasn't there. my comp likes
to knock the door... a good three separate times. we saw someone in
the window, but they didn't come out. so he knocked the fourth time. yet
again, no success. so we left, and came back the next day. he knocked, no
one came. i said let's go.. but he knocked again.. and again. the last
time he knocked, his hand hit the door and it flew open! an old man
was not so happy we were there. he started swearing at us and told us
to get out of there. my comp, being stubborn like he is, insisted on
talking to him. i said let's go! and i turned around. just then the guy
shoves Elder Roman... into me(very forcefully). we walked to the
gate, with him following us and yelling. i walk through and then as
my comp walks through, the old man throws it (the gate) at him! needless to
say, it was a depressing time. this week was hard. very hard. lots of
rejection. but there are people out there. on the happy side, we found
a couple part member families,(one of them the other elders were
teaching and then gave to us) and one of them wants to get baptized!
so, hopefully we can get some baptisms out of it. the hard part is,
the families(i'm not trying to be mean) don't really like talking to
Elder Roman, because he is pretty rude. but we will work on that...

another wonderful thing happened! when i went to write you mom, about
grandpa, i looked and saw an email from Ivan, from bio bio. he told
me that he is really considering getting baptized! i'm so glad for him!
i was so happy to hear that news! it just gave me the chills and made
me feel great that he wants to take this wonderful step. i hope he
does it, because it will help him in so many ways!! well that's all i
have to say. oh... i also gave a talk this last week. i was surprised i
actually talked for 15 minutes in Spanish and managed to get the
members to laugh a little. ha. well i love you all. hope all of you
are doing well! chao
elder jackson