I can't believe I've already been here for 3 weeks! It's really flying by. It just seems like yesterday that I had my P-Day. I like that it's going fast because I'm anxious to get out the Philippines, but it also terrifies me because I can't imagine ever knowing enough Tagalog to actually teach it to the Filipinos. But I am learning. It takes a great deal of patience with myself and more than that, it takes practice. Practice makes permanent as they say here at the MTC. And it is the truth. I am very grateful for awesome, patient, kind, teachers who care about us a lot and give us a lot of help.

My companion and I are becoming great friends, for which I am VERY grateful. We had a rocky start, but we had some really great talks and worked everything out and now we get along really well. We have a good time talking about each other's culture and laughing about all the crazy differences. I'm very grateful to have a companion I can talk to and who I know loves me. It's really important here, more than I would have thought before. I'm also getting closer to my district. We changed desks this week and so I sit by someone else. He's our district leader and hilarious, but I can tell he really wants to be here. We had a devotional every week and afterward we all get together and talk about it. This week was such a great talk and our review afterward became this amazingly spiritual testimony experience. The elders really bore sincere testimonies, there was crying, and loving of each other. It was awesome. It was a big turning point for our district. I also gained a HEAPS (my companion says that is the right word to use here) of respect for all the elders. It's a lot easier to love them now. :)

I got a little cold this week. I was really worried it would get worse because half of the elders had it and were miserable. But, and I attribute this totally to the Lord, I hardly got sick at all and it hasn't really kept me down at all. I had to sit out of one gym period. Not bad at all. The Lord LOVES missionaries. I have witnesses of this multiple times a day.

Well, I think that's probably it for this week. I'm having a wonderful experience. It is hard, and exhausting, but more than that it is amazing. I have never felt the spirit so strongly before, I have never felt closer to the Lord. I know I am exactly where I need to be. I don't think I really knew what faith was until I became a missionary. Now I have REAL witnesses of it everyday. I'm so blessed.

I love you all!!!

Sister Jackson