Week #23

Hi Family!

STACY IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She came to church this sunday and we are having her baptismal interview this tuesday. I have already gone over the interview questions with her so she will pass it with ease. We are still working out all the small details of her baptism but I can't wait to see her be baptized this coming sunday! As far as Eric goes, he said that he will contact us at the beginning of this week so if he doesn't today, then we'll call him tomorrow. I'm pretty stoked to keep teaching him and see him progress as well. 

I'm doing a lot better now than I was both with sickness and with homesickness. Ever since Christmas I have been feeling fine. No hives and no stomach ache which is nice. I was missing you guys quite a bit Christmas day and Christmas night. It's pretty hard to have a great christmas when you aren't with the people that you love most. I love the new tie that you got me and I love the socks that match them! In fact I'm wearing one of the sweet ties you got me. 

I've got a couple of questions for you. 1) A member accidentally sprayed me with butter oil and it got all over my favorite pants from mr. mac, my light grey ones, and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to save them. Sister Hildebrand washed them for me but the stain is still there. It's lighter but still there, so what do I do? 2) What do I do with all of the Christmas decorations that you sent me???????? I can send them all home or I can just leave them at this apartment. I don't really want to tow it all around with my stuff to each apartment but I want to keep it. I will do whatever you think I should do.

Thanks for all you do for me mom! I miss you a lot and sometimes lay in bed and wonder what I would be doing if I were back home. Luckily I think the Lord is blessing me with a misconception of time so I think I have only been out a month but it's actually over 5 now. I really do love my mission and love the work but would prefer the ability to talk to my family. I'll talk to you next week how the baptism went. 

Love,

Elder Scornsby (What Ralph Hildebrand calls me)

Week #22

Hey Mom! 

So Stacy and John are doing really great! Stacy is totally ready for baptism and John is going to need probably a lot more time mostly because of the word of wisdom. They both have a great desire to follow Christ so it is really easy to teach them. We also found an amazing new investigator! His name is eric and I will tell you more about him on Friday when we skype because we don't have much time to email today. I am SOOOOOOO happy that you found sparky (our turtle)! That guy is a legend! I am convinced that he is going to live forever! 

My ankle is doing okay but during a lesson yesterday my ankle was really tight so I popped it which turned out to be a very bad idea... My ankle now hurts more but not as bad as it did when I first rolled it. I hate my physical body. Can't wait to have a perfected body after I am resurrected. 

I really don't have much to talk about because I will be seeing you on friday and will get to talk to you so I guess I will just see you then. I am planning on anywhere from 4-6 pm my time. I will call you friday morning to get it figured out.

I love you so much Mom and CAN'T WAIT TO TALK TO YOU!!!

Love,

Jackson

Week #21

Hi Everyone! 

Wow this week was interesting. The reason that it was a little odd was because we didn't teach as many people as I would have liked which would typically make me sad and disappointed. However, I have been so happy this week which is amazing and for sure a great miracle! We only have 2 investigators right now but they are both so unbelievably solid! It is Stacey and John. Stacey has been to church 3 weeks in a row which was her only thing she had to do before baptism so she will be baptized the first week in January and John has been to church 3 consecutive weeks as well. He still has to be taught a few things and also needs to change some things in his life. He has such a strong desire to be baptized and is really working towards it. 

Yesterday we ate dinner at Bishop Taylor's house! They have some crazy little kids that I love! As we sat and talked, Sister Taylor said that she knew some Scoresby's and that they had a little girl named Haliey. I said back to her, "No way you know Rob and Annie?!" HAHAH she said "Yeah how do you know them?!" And so I told her that they were my aunt and Uncle! It's such a small mormon world. So next time you talk to Rob and Annie, ask if they remember Robin and Eric Taylor. They went to college together. 

I have a funny story to tell you. Well it's actually not that funny but here you go. So me and Elder Lau (My Chinese companion) were riding our bikes at night to a less active members house in a super sketch neighborhood. The whole time we were riding people would yell "I worship the devil!" I would just smile and wave. Anyway, so after we had all these people say a bunch of garbage to us, we arrived at our destination. As I came to a complete stop and touched down with my left foot, I swung my right foot over the bike (like I always do when getting out of the saddle). However, I failed to notice or remember that the sidewalks are complete crap here! I came down hard on my right foot, right on an uneven surface. Now you should know that I have weak ankles to begin with, so when you throw these uneven sidewalks into the mix, it's a recipe for disaster. I brought my right foot down quick and rolled my ankle about as hard as I did when I broke it Sophomore year. I crumbled to the ground with my bike landing on top of me. Elder Lau, he being chinese, of course found this hilarious and laughed harder than I have ever heard him laugh before. I got up and quickly looked around to make sure that no one saw my complete uncoordination. Now my ankle is pretty well swollen and hurts but I am a boy so I will just tough it out. Hahah looking back it was funny but in the moment I was ticked. I am probably going to get a brace and wear it all this week. 

The weather has been incredible here! It's the middle of December and I have worn short sleeve shirts for the last 3 days! I'm pretty sure that it's warmer here than it is in Arizona! 

I love you all.

Love, 

Elder Jackson Scoresby

Week #20

Hi Everyone!

So this week wasn't a great one. We had a ton of our investigators cancel on us and tell us that they can't meet until the new year which is frustrating. Kathy and Wyatt were one of the few that did that. Then Issac won't text us back or call us back for whatever reason. He is so ready but really struggles in social situations. He won't be making his baptismal date as far as I can tell. Rob (the hunter guy) is so busy so we haven't been able to see him since our initial contact with him. He does however text us back which is so nice. He seems truly interested. Then there is another lady that seems pretty excited about learning more too. She asked for a bible and then wanted a book of mormon too when we told her what it was which was cool to see. 

Now for the investigators that I am really excited about! Stacey and Ernie!!! Ernie is John but he wants us to start calling him Ernie because he has literally become a different person since learning about the gospel. He keeps talking about baptism and how much he wants to be baptized! We are trying to see him 3 times a week and he will hopefully be baptized in January! Stacey is also totally on track to be baptized! Her and Ernie have been to church the last 2 Sundays! She will definitely be baptized the first week in January! I am loving watching these two progress! 

I truly love being a missionary! 

Love,

Elder Jackson Scoresby

Week #19

Jackson didn't send a friends and family email this week, but here's a portion of the letter he sent me.

Hi Everyone! 

This Thanksgiving was good but would've been a ton better if I got to spend it with people that I love. I mean I really do love the people here but it isn't that kind of love that I have for my family and close friends. We had a great time with the Kerstetters and ate some delicious food! They have 13 kids which is insane! Almost all of them are grown and don't live with them anymore but there were about 27 people in one small house! The house size is probably like the Willis's but has a basement. It was pretty packed. They were all so nice! We spent about 3 hours there haha. It was a blast. Then that night we went bowling with the Elders from New Philadelphia which was awesome! I got the highest score! Just to give you an idea of how lucky I got in bowling, I was getting about 120ish points on average, sometimes higher sometimes lower, but then randomly one game I got 225!! That was 6 strikes in a row and a couple of spares! I worked those chumps out there! As far as missionary work goes, investigators were all pretty busy but we did get to see a lot of less active members which was great! 

I am getting so excited for Christmas! We are going to borrow a christmas tree from these members that have an extra which rocks! I thought we were going to go without one this year. I freaking miss you guys especially during the holiday season. I can't wait to Skype you in 25 days! That is going to be SWEET! 

Love you,

Jacky Boy