8

May 17, 2019

General Información

Elder Clifford and I have offcially named this change the "Change of Good Days", because there has not been a single day in our last 6 weeks together where we have had a bad day. It has been 6 weeks of pure enjoyment, as we have worked our hardest, and had the time of our lives doing it. Attitude truly is everything, and obviously we ran into our dificulties here and there, but as we worked together with an attitude of positivity and faith in our Heavenly Father, finding the good in every moment just became the norm. I will always remember this time in my mission with very fond memories, and although it's hard to see Elder Clifford go, I am excited for what the future holds. Plus, we will be back together here at BYU in a little, so this isn't the end of us just yet ;)

Special Reference

One of our goals for this change has been to get the confidence of the ward. For 6 weeks straight Elder Clifford and I have greeted every person that has walked into the chapel, with some verryyy big smiles, and it's beginning to show results. The ward has opened up with, and we have had a flood of references. We got a lesson with some very special one's this week, a family of 5, who has a little 7 year old boy with a brain tumor. After 3 weeks of fallen appointments, we finally made contact on Friday, taught them a very spiritual lesson of the Restoration, and they then invited us back the next day. Their son wasn't there on Friday, but we got to chance to meet him on Saturday, and when got there his parents asked us to give him a blessing. I had the opportunity to give him it, and as I started, I immediately felt the love of our Heavenly Father for this child. The power of the Priesthood is a real thing, and I feel very humbled to have had the blessing to be the instrument in the hands of God in this moment, and to express His love for one of his beloved children. After the blessing we taught them the Plan of Salvation, and it was a very very special moment. The Dad was very touched, and they, like all of us at one point or another, were able to found peace of comfort in the perfect plan that God has created for all of us. 

El Fin

Though I can't believe it, this past week I hit the 8 month mark. I remember writing about 1 month like it was yesterday, so it's scary to see how fast the mission has gone. The mission is unlikely anything else, as in just this one week I had everything from an old man stopping us in the street to talk to us in vosotros, tell us he was an Apostle and that he was a better swimmer than Micheal Phelps, to an awesome carne asada with the whole district, and 7 liters of Coca Cola. Like I said earlier in this letter, the attitude really is the difference, as like anything else in life, there are hard moments at times. But, the key is to take everything in the way where you can look back on all the days, and only see those times of joy. God's plan for us isn't just that we live our lives, but that we ENJOY them. He wants us to be happy, and that happiness is found within this church, I know that without a doubt in my heart. Wishing you all the best wherever you are, and I will talk to you next week! 

Elder Jackson 

1. Carne Asada 

2. El Distrito de San Juan del Rio

3. Elder Clifford and I