President and Sister Swenson and methat's weird how crazy the weather is out there! the weather hasn't been
weird here... just really cold! i'm so glad Darian came out to visit
you! hes going to be a great missionary!
well, this week was a full one.. we had interviews with Pres.Swenson...
our last ones with him.... it was so sad. :(... but a good interview. i'm
kind of scared though... he said he had big things planned for me. i'm
not sure what that means, but it scares me! but it was great. i love
President... just the way he is makes anyone feel comfortable around him.
it's going to be a bummer when he leaves. after,interviews we had an
intercambio with the assistants.. i'm not going to lie, i don't like them... the
feeling of someone watching my every move doesn't make me work at my
best. but it went well with me and Elder Vincent (from Provo). we had a
great lesson with Dagoberto and Natali and Edgard. we were able to
help them a lot. Elder Allen,on the other hand, didn't enjoy it very much with
the other Elder...who i will not name. he's a pushy elder. he was in the
military before and went to MIT. let's just say he didn't
show much love toward our investigators. it ended up making Monica not
want to go back to church ever again!! oh no! but after we went over
and apologized. she ended up coming to church. it's just crazy how
missionaries differ from each other. i believe there really are
certain people prepared for each one of us. Jaime was commenting to me
how different me and Elder Allen were. ..he's almost blind and when we
knocked on his door the first time, he said that there was something
different about us. he said that we had a "literal glow" (he only sees
silhouettes.). he said that we came at the precise moment. he started
losing his eyesight two years ago and said once he lost it, he just
shut himself in the house.... until we got here to talk about the
"word of God", as he says it. it was comforting to here that. he also
loved our patience with his children. he said that the gospel has
changed him so much. before he was just angry at the world and at God.
but then after hearing the truth and going to church, he completely changed.
i cannot tell you how great it feels to see how the gospel changes people. he
said he especially liked me because i showed so much love and peace
when i spoke. i know it's not me but the spirit, but i want to thank
you, mom and dad, for teaching me to be sincere. i know that has helped
a lot and i know that i am who i am today thanks to my family...
especially my parents. same with Monica, she said that she had no
desire to go to church until the "mixture" of me and Elder Allen. it's
great how the Lord works in His mysterious ways and uses us as his
hands to help his children. i am truly grateful to be a part of this
work. we attended Natali and Edgard's wedding today! it was great...
and fun to be the witnesses for the wedding. Natali will be getting
baptized this week... as well as Dagoberto and Monica.. hopefully!
as for your question...(when were you converted?) i can say, due to some
prior experiences, i was converted before the mission. i wouldn't say completely
converted though. i definitely knew and felt the power of the atonement in my
life before i left... and i knew that the Book of Mormon was true, but after all
the experiences in Chile... and studying of the scriptures, it gets harder and
harder for me each day to even question or doubt a gospel principle. i
can still remember the night when i received my witness of the Book
of Mormon... i was 15 or 16, in my room one night. i was an independent
person and liked doing things myself. at the time i didn't have much of
a desire to go to church or read anything, but i thought to myself, "i
better find out for myself if i am wasting my time going to church or
reading the Book of Mormon". so i did what everyone had taught me, i prayed
and read. i just opened and started reading in Alma about the Stripling
Warriors and how they respected their mothers and all that they had
taught them. as i read that, it felt like a brick wall of happiness
had hit me. i had never felt so much joy and love in one moment. from
then on i just knew that the Book of Mormon was true... which meant that
the church was true. and each day here, i receive a small witness
every time i open that book... even though it is in another language.
and... after seeing how it changes the lives of others...there's nothing better!
well i love you all and hope you have a great week! try not to get to
wet with the rain!
love elder jackson
alright... sorry... i am finally sending pictures. i've just been lazy... so
the first one is of sardines in a semi truck.... we live by the fish
factory (hence the bad smell) and those trucks drive by every day....
yummy!! sometimes it even spills going around the corners....
and there was a sale on azucaritas (frosted flakes) so we loaded
up :) then we made a cujen (pie-ish thing... really good) at Natali's
house. and then we found one of Elder Allen's socks that didn't have a
match so we decided to pull it over our face.. don't ask. ..yes that is me
with a sock over my face :) ... and the cutest puppy in the world! we made
a shirt for our zone. the picture of the dogs.. there are 12! (some are a little
hidden, but it was a Kodak moment) welcome to chile! i ate a raw
muscle last night and the last one is of Natali and Edgard's wedding!
we were the witnesses... ha.
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