Marriage Proposals and Nostradamus

So just to start things off, in case you all were worried... There was no tsunami here in the Philippines. We got word that there might be, but nothing really happened here, just some stormy weather. But we have heard about the awful destruction in Japan. It's horrible, 10,000 dead? We will definitely be praying for those people and their families.

So this week has been a good one. We've been trying to really get to work on our CMIS (the church membership list) and we've had great success. Well at least we've been able to eliminate a lot of people who have moved or died... but that's progress!

So I had some fun/great experiences this week I think I will share. I've decided to follow the advice and example of Pres. Eyring and keep a journal of how I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life everyday. It's been a great experience and I have realized some great tender mercies. It's helping me be more humble and have greater faith.

Okay, so first of all, last Monday I was in a store printing some pictures and a man overheard me speaking to the employee. He asked me how I knew Ilonggo. I told him I had learned it here. He asked how many years I had lived here. I told him only 6 months. He couldn't believe it and then he told me he thought I had great diction! That was such a huge compliment! I mean, I hear stuff kind of like this all the time, but this guy actually heard me talking. It was great! He also offered me marriage which is also really common, but that's okay, he thought my language was great!

Okay, so we were doing Baptismal Interview Questions with our 2 YW. I was a little worried because I wasn't sure if they really had strong testimonies of Joseph Smith or the restoration. It was my turn to ask the question and that was the question. I asked it and was shocked by their responses. They said "Of course we believe he was a prophet and that he restored the gospel otherwise we wouldn't have the Book or Mormon"! It was great! When we had asked them before they weren't sure of their answer, but when we asked them specifically they could SEE how they had received their answer. It was awesome!

So then I had this funny experience this week. So we are still teaching our crazy Bro. Arojo who always has RIDICULOUS questions. This day was no exception. We decided to teach him again about prophets because we weren't sure he really understood. In the middle of my testimony (which is way common for him) he asked me if Nostradamus was a prophet. Yeah, these are his kind of questions. Well this was the tender mercy: Because I'm way weird and a total nerd I actually know who that is and what he did. Now of course I didn't teach the man about Nostradamus, but I knew enough about what he was talking about to be able to redirect him to what was important and bare testimony of the reality and importance of prophets called of God. I was so grateful for all the random knowledge I have acquired in my lifetime, it's helping me a lot!

Well that's about it for this week. It's been great. I love my companion, I'm totally in love with my area and never want to leave. I love the members, the Recent converts, the investigators, everyone. It's great. I love my mission. Oh and by the way, Happy 8 months to me! I've been on my mission for 8 months today! And that means 6 months in the field too! CRAZY!!!! Well I Love you all!!!

Sister Jackson

Victorias! Victorias! Victorias!

So the big news for this week is... I'm staying in Victorias! I won't lie and say that I was WAY relieved by that. I DID NOT want to transfer. I love this place so much. I love the people, the ward, everything and I was not ready to leave. Thankfully President, in his wisdom allowed me to stay. Woohoo!!! I'm staying with my companion as well so we get another transfer together to have fun and hopefully strengthen this area. So needless to say, I am WAY excited about that.

In other news, this week was fairly uneventful. We are kind of struggling here because we have like 3 investigators and we haven't been able to find any new ones. We're praying, we fasted and we are hoping and trying to have faith that Heavenly Father will help lead us to where we need to be. So now comes the test, of course. It's hard but we have some good plans. We decided that we would start teaching an English class to find new investigators. They have classes here but they are all WAY expensive, so we are going to of course offer this for free. I know my grandparents had a TON of success doing this on their missions, so we are going to try it out, see how it goes. We're trying to get creative. Any other good ideas? Any helpful ideas for teaching English as a second language... Woohoo! Adventures!

Well we are having some good success especially with the daughter of our recent convert Jeannett. Her name is Grace and she is way smart. We are also teaching her friend, who is also named Grace. There aren't a lot of variety of names here. I think I've met about 30 Graces on my mission. But they are way excited for their baptisms on March 19th. They made friends INSTANTLY at church and they are participating in the Jubilee dance practices and they are having a blast. It's awesome. They really just fell into our laps perfectly prepared and ready. It's been a huge blessing and a great miracle.

So that's really about it. But I am attaching pictures in this email, and we all know that you all care more about pictures than you do about anything else anyway. HAHAHA! Enjoy! I miss/love you all!

Sister Jackson

Pictures!

1-9. These are all from our awesome trip to a golf course where we got lost trying to find some less actives... yeah, it was awesome. and beautiful

10. Sis. Tambs and I in front of this awesome sign...

11.Our Bishop's grandkids... I love them!

12. Johnray and Kurt... cute!

13. Me and a tiny puppy! It fell asleep in my arms instantly...

14. Jeanette's Baptism!

15. Johnray's Baptism!

16. Johnray and Miemie (his uncle and the baptizer)

Enjoy!