Week #74

Hi Mom!

Glad you liked the picture that the Rhodes family sent! They're a super active family in the ward. We are actually skyping from their house. We can shoot for 2:00. We'll be having lunch with Anthony so by then we should be good. If anything changes I'll have Sister Rhodes text you. 

Before I forget, I'm running out of space in my journal, so I need a new one. I would love the same one that I have now. I don't know if you remember what it looks like but it's the leather journal that says called to serve on the front. When you open it up it's a 3 ring binder kinda deal. Could you send me another one of those? Sorry I didn't ask for it before. I didn't think I would need another one for a while but this week I realized it'll be sooner than I thought. 

How funny that you saw Megan's mom! It really is such a small world! So funny. I haven't talked to Megan in forever. I always forget about people back home. Sad... But crazy news! I don't know if you heard but Heather Hatfield is engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Totally not okay! That down right freaks me out. I feel like I'm still in High School! Luckily not too many other of my friends are engaged and hopefully won't be for at least 7 more months!

Enough about that nonsense... This week was great! So it was a pretty average week up until Friday. Friday we went on exchanges with the Cleveland 3rd Elders. Their area is the one where Elders go to get beat up... So we were in their area and I was on a bike. It was decently cold and there was an impressive amount of ice and snow on the ground. For some reason, the roads don't really get plowed in Cleveland. The really busy streets get plowed and salted but the back roads just get driven on so the snow is packed down. Those conditions make for less than safe biking conditions, so I struggled for balance all day which was an adventure! All of our appointments that night canceled so we didn't have a whole lot going on. We were biking down to a potential investigator's house when Elder Rowley, my companion for the day, pulled off to the side and said, "I feel like we shouldn't go do this stop by." I was more than on board to follow that prompting because I know what can happen in that area. He pulled out the phone to see if there was anyone else to go and see. When he looked at the phone, we had a voicemail but no missed call. Sort of strange... He listened to the voicemail and it was the Chaplin at the Cleveland Clinic. She called and said that a member of the Mormon church was in the Hospital and would like a blessing. She continued to explain in her message that the lady was from Ashland! Immediately I told Elder Rowley we were going to visit this person whoever it was! We kept listening the the message and at the very end of the message, she said that it was Claudia Van Meter!!!! Parker's grandmother was in the Hospital and she requested for missionaries to come visit her the one day that I was in the area. If Elder Rowley hadn't listened to the prompting, he wouldn't have checked the phone and we would've had no idea she was there! 

We went directly to the hospital to give her a blessing! As we walked into the room, I threw my hands up and said, "What's up Claudia?!" She just stared at me in disbelief and said, "Oh my gosh it's Jackson!!!!" A day or two before I had left Ashland, I told her my first name and she never again called me Elder Scoresby! It was Jackson from that point on. 

While I was in Ashland, Claudia's kidney was failing so she was on dialysis. It was super hard on her but she pushed through it took care of her 3 grand kids. What had happened was they found a kidney for her and she had it put in this last Thursday! She was doing so good! 

I talked to her for a while about how her family was doing. They are super active in the ward and her kids are loving church! I think Claudia came once maybe twice to church while I was there but she goes every week now! She seems so much happier now! She said that if it weren't for Elder Brewer and I, they wouldn't be where they are now. She recognizes the Lord's hand in her life so much more now than she did. I think that they were the reason I went to Ashland. I love that family and will be so excited to go back and visit them! 

As for our other investigators, they have all been crazy busy this week. We aren't going to be able to see Lauren until the new year. We're eating dinner with Anthony tomorrow and then we're going to his house for a little bit on Christmas. Yvette has been busy with work. We haven't heard from her at all this week. Frank is doing okay. He's struggling with the gospel. He's got some strange ideas. hopefully he can get it figured out.

This is the last full week of the transfer so I find out on Sunday if I am staying her for 6 more weeks or if I am off to a new area. I'll let you know next Tuesday. 

I can't wait to Skype the you guys! Time is flying by, the last few weeks especially. I feel like we should still have at least a month until Christmas! I won't complain. I love you so much and wish you a Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Jack

Jackson and Elder Christianson

Week #73

Hey Mom!

I'm so excited to skype with you guys too! I miss the family so much! Way less than last year though. Christmas last year was a little bit rough, but this year I feel like I'm kind of over the fact that I'm away from home. I obviously would much rather be in Arizona with the family if I wasn't on a mission. I definitely wouldn't be as happy as I am now if I were at home.

I'm glad to hear that Nana is doing better! I bet she's more than happy to be home! Hopefully she can keep improving. Glad you're back home too! Things are never the same when Mom isn't home. 

I did get all the Christmas decorations which are AWESOME! We had this little crappy Christmas tree we found in the apartment but the one you sent is probably 34 times better than that one! I decorated the Christmas tree the day after I got it and hung the lights up around the apartment the night I got the packages! I almost forgot how much I love Christmas! I'm so pumped! 

Today we're going up to Kirtland to meet up with other missionaries and make gingerbread houses! I'll send you pictures next week of the master piece Elder Christiansen and I create! 

This week we got some gnarly snow! Kirtland, which is 30 minutes from where we live, got over 30 inches of snow! We got maybe a total of 6 in a couple of days. I'm not terrible at driving in snow, considering that the first time I did was a year ago! I think I took a picture of the snow, so I'll send that to you.

Our Core 4 investigators are still doing awesome! We weren't able to meet with Anthony because he had to go out of town randomly. Still not entirely sure where he went, but we're planning to see him later this week. 

Yvette is doing great! We read the Book of Mormon this week with her and she is just eating it up! She usually closes our meetings with prayer and every time she does, she says that she believes what she's reading is true! She wasn't able to come to church this week. We're trying to get her there so that we can show her the baptismal font and then really focus in on getting her a baptismal date! 

Franks doing well. We're still got some kinks to work out. He just doesn't understand some things that we've taught him and we want to be sure he's got a solid understanding before we baptize him. He's really got some interesting ideas that don't necessarily coincide with the gospel but he's got an amazing testimony of the Book of Mormon. The strength of his testimony is amazing!

Lauren is really doing great! She's understanding the gospel so well! We talked to her about church this week and she said she loved it! The relief society president in our ward is awesome! She got up and bore a powerful testimony last sunday. Lauren was impressed with her testimony and how open people are. She also loved Sunday school! She loves the participation! It made me grateful for all the years I've been in Sunday School and the knowledge that has come from that. 

One answer to prayer that I received lately was just to know how to find love for the people we teach and talk to each day. As I read in Preach My Gospel this morning, in chapter 9, it says that we're all part of God's family. As I sat and pondered on this etenal truth that has been taught to me ever since I was born, I felt an over whelming amount of love for all of God's children. I applied the thought of how grateful I am to be sealed to my family and want more than anything to live with them for eternity. I should feel that same way towards all my distant brothers and sisters. I love the comfort and power that comes from knowing and living the gospel. Such a blessing to know these truths!

We do have a Christmas conference every year but it will take forever to tell you about over email so remind me when we skype to tell you about it! It's super cool! 

I love you so much Mom! Hope this week is amazing! Miss you and can't wait to talk to you in 13 days! (I've been counting down for the last 2 months...)

Love,

Jack

First snow this year

Jackson, Sister Christianson, and Elder Davis

Elder Lau and Elder Brewer- now companions, were both Jack's previous companions :)

A mural Jack thought was cool, on the side of a church in Cleveland.

Week #72

Hi Mom!

Wow that really is a crazy week! I'm glad that Nana is doing better. That's pretty scary! It's really a bummer not being able to help in anyway over here in Ohio. Glad that I have super woman for a mom though! Otherwise, we could have some issues. You really are the best Mom! You're always so quick to serve and be there for everyone. I love you a whole lot! 

This week was a pretty great week! We have been taking a lot of members of the ward out with us and I really feel like I'm becoming a part of this ward. It's so much fun to get to be a help in the unit where I serve. I love seeing the work progress here! 

So our investigators are doing so great! We really have been blessed with amazing investigators in this area! All of them (well at least the ones that are progressing) are so solid! It continues to amaze me how much these people love the gospel. Our core 4 investigators are still Anthony, Lauren, Yvette, and Frank. They're all moving forward and keeping all of their commitments! We had planned for all four of them to come to church last week but Frank woke up not feeling great so he wasn't able to make it. Lauren, Yvette, and Anthony all came to church and loved it!!! Lauren was impressed with the women in the ward and how kind they were! She also loved 2nd hour and had to leave after that. Anthony and Yvette could only stay for the first hour because of their work schedules. Great week for church attendance! 

Anthony was out of town for part of last week and when he came back was again crazy busy with work. He's still trying really hard to get all his assignments done so that he can become a teacher. We talked to him about it this last Saturday but he said he's almost for sure just going back to accounting. He's become fairly frustrated with the teaching environment. He's teaching in a lower income area in Cleveland. Most of the problems he's running into come from some sort of problem within the Kids' families. He still wan't to be baptized and knows that the church is true! His testimony continues to grow stronger and stronger. 

Lauren is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! She always has such great questions about what she reads in the Book of Mormon. We had a lesson all planned out for our meeting this last week with Lauren but she read from 2 Nephi 1 all the way to chapter 14! She had so many questions that we spent an hour just answering all of them and talking about what she read! I think we only made it up to chapter 9! She's so awesome! Like I said, she came to church Sunday and thought that it was great! I was confident that she would enjoy Sunday school because of her love for applying the scriptures and gospel to her life. I can see her desire to progress and become better which she is finding in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yvette's lesson this week was really good! So she told us when we first started to meet with her that she had a learning disability and that we'd have to be patient with her. We didn't know what it was from or how sever it really was. This week, however, we figured out both of those things. We had decided to read that Book of Mormon stories book with her this week to help her grasp a little more what she was reading. She struggled a little bit with the reading, which I didn't think was going to happen, and she told us that she developed this disability when she was 11 years old. She had a very bad seizure and lost a lot of blood, resulting in a stroke. She has had 5 strokes I think is what she said and is still driving! She isn't physically handicapped in any way at least that I can tell. Anyway, the reason her lesson was so great was because when we were reading with her, she was loving the stories in the book! She was applying what we were talking about to her life and was totally grasping similarities with the bible! After we read with her, she prayed and said in that prayer, "I believe what I have read in this book" She's seriously so great! I love teaching her! She soaks the spirit up when we teach her! 

Frank is doing really good! He's having a rough go with sickness right now but other than that he's killing it! He is still reading the Book of Mormon a lot and making some impressive notes so that he can retain the information. He's working really hard to understand the basics. Hopefully he'll be baptized before the end of the year! 

All of our other investigators are having a little bit of a hard time keeping return appointments that we set with them. They aren't super committed which is a little bit of a drag but it's working out! Still finding some great people!

I don't know if I mentioned last letter but it's freaking cold over here! I wish I could stay inside all winter or go back to Arizona. I swear from this point forward to never hate on a snow bird ever again. If I lived anywhere other than Arizona I would totally be a snow bird!

I can't think of anything that I need or want for Christmas. I can make everything that I have last until I go home so no worries.

The Doctor was lame... All she said was that I should wear a brace... Like I said, Lame.

Well I love you lots Mom! Wish I could come and be with the fam. A skype call in 3 weeks will just have to do. Love you so much!

Love,

Jack

Week #71

Hi Mom!

I'm sad to hear about Nana. Let me know when you get updates. I'll for sure keep her in my prayers. 

My ankle is doing okay! It doesn't hurt at all when I walk on it or anything, it's just pretty sensitive to touch. I have an appointment next Monday morning so I'll let you know how that goes. I'm not too worried about it, other than the fact that I can make it pop on demand... The doc will most likely just tell me to put a brace on it and take advil. 

I'm sad that I don't get to take a picture with the family again! I hate to say it but I would love to take a family picture! Poking Bennett or Cooper in the side as we take the picture still sounds like a fun time! 

Elder Christiansen and I are still having a fun time together! We just laugh all day long at each other which makes missionary work really enjoyable! Well... missionary work is enjoyable either way. I love it out here! Elder Christiansen grew up in Florida but moved to Utah 2 or 3 years before his mission. He's super musical and a way funny guy! Love him! 

This week, there were a lot of happy moments! One of them was when we were contacting a bible referral. So we get these texts from the church head quarters that tell us when someone orders something. So this guy Byron ordered a bible. Usually when we drop the bible off, the people are pretty well grounded in their own faith and don't really want to talk to a couple of white Mormon boys. However, Byron was ecstatic when we came with his bible! He let us right in to talk with him and his wife Harriet! They're both super nice! They are pretty active in their Baptist church but were more than willing to learn about and read the Book of Mormon! We set an appointment to come back and talk to them more and teach the Restoration, so we did just that. We taught them and they both listened intently and had some great comments! They're a very spiritual couple! I'll let you know how our lesson this week goes with them. 

Frank isn't going to be able to make his baptismal date this Saturday. He isn't giving himself credit for how well he is doing with understanding the Gospel! He's putting in so much effort and does remember a lot but just keeps getting frustrated with himself. I think he wants to remember everything perfectly which is not what needs to happen. He's got to take it one step at a time and recognize the progress that he's making.

Lauren came to church! She's been sick which is why she didn't come last week but she came for sacrament meeting this week and loved it! She texted us afterwards and told us she was impressed with the way that we worship! She's so amazing! I'm loving teaching her! We're still trying to help her set a baptismal date but as of now she doesn't feel ready to be baptized. She feels like she needs to know a lot more and read more of the Book of Mormon. She finished 1 Nephi this week! She is understanding and applying everything she reads. It's SO great!

Yvette is has been busy so we didn't teach her this week. She's still doing good! We're trying to get her to the church so that we can show her the baptismal font. We want to teach her more about baptism so that she can feel more comfortable with the idea of baptism. 

Anthony has been out of town all week so we didn't meet with him either.

We're starting to work with a lot of new people but none of them have really become very solid yet. Hopefully we'll get some new progressing investigators. 

We had some really memorable experiences this week! I wouldn't say that they were necessarily good but they were funny! Thanksgiving night we were going to go over to a potential investigator's house for some food. Her name is Tange, super nice lady that has investigated the church before. When we showed up, the door was open so when Tange saw us walk up, she waved us in. As we stepped through the door, a large and very loud black woman says "Are you Mormons?" She said it in such a way that I wasn't sure if she was interested or worried. However, her following choice of words dispelled any uncertainty on how she was feeling. "Oh NO! Get the _____ Out! We don't need no evil spirits in here!" Tange attempted to calm her friend down but it was all in vain. She was committed to make us leave. We didn't put up much of a fight. Later when we called Tange, she apologized and we set up a time to come back, when there weren't any scary, angry people. 

Another kind of funny moment was when we knocked on a door of a potential investigator we met. No one answered but as we were standing there, we were looking at all these divots in the door frame. After examining closer what it was, I realized there were a bunch of small metal bb's lodged into this metal door frame! This guy had a shot gun blast to the front door! That guy's street cred just went up by 150 points! Good times in Cleveland!

That's all that I can really think of that happened this week. Lots of meetings that took a ton of time but all good things! 

I'm loving the hard top on that jeep Ben! It's sweet! Cooper, congrats on the phone! Liza, I'm jealous you got to camp with dad! I miss you family and am excited to talk to you on Christmas! Have a good week! Love you so much!

Love,

Jack

Week #70

Hi Mom!

This week was crazy! Elder Christiansen and I were made companions which has been super fun! We get along super well and have been successful with our teaching! I've already learned from him, the importance of listening to the concerns of our investigators, and checking for understanding while we're teaching! He's really great at listening! 

For Thanksgiving, we're going to the Shaw's house! They're an awesome family! He's our ward missionleader. I'm excited to be able to get to spend time with that family! They are all high energy so it's always fun when we go over there! Unfortunately, President Brown told us that we aren't allowed to play football because it's a contact sport. I would love to play in the turkey bowl that our ward has going on that morning! 

I don't remember if I told you a couple of weeks ago or not, but I rolled my ankle again! It was my left ankle again... Ever since I rolled it in Ashland while playing basketball, it's been pretty sore. I can walk on it fine but it's sensitive to the touch! The two bones on either side of my ankle that stick out hurt when they tap anything. So I talked to our mission health person and she said that I need to go see a podiatrist. I'm going to set up an appointment and see if there is anything seriously wrong, which I don't think there will be. Funny story how I rolled it though! Elder Davis and I were riding our bikes to a member's house to pick up a dinner. They gave us the dinner and we were almost all the way home with no accidents or anything until we got to this big hill right before our house. I was riding one hand, with the dinner in my other barely making it up this hill and Elder Davis came up from behind me and got really close as I was getting over more to the side. We collided right into the side of each other and I came down on my left side really hard on my ankle and rolled it! The cool part was that I didn't spill a single drop of our food! That was a miracle!

As for our investigators, Anthony is doing great! He's still staying strong in the gospel. He's coming to church this week and told us that he definitely wants to be baptized, he just doesn't know when. He's totally converted to the gospel! 

We texted Lauren yesterday to see when we could meet with her next and asked how her reading was going and she said that she finished the first book of Nephi! She's doing so great! She was planning on coming to church last week but she got sick and pulled a rib muscle from coughing so much! She has a strong desire to come to church, and knows that she needs to be there, she's just struggling to find the time to be there. 

We might have to push Frank's baptism back but we're hoping that he can make it Dec. 3rd. He's still having trouble retaining everything and is super frustrated. We're meeting with him tonight to talk to him about it. We're hoping to help him see the effect that the Atonement can have on him. He isn't understanding that through Christ, we can overcome any challenges that we have, whether they be physical or spiritual. 

We taught Yvette the Word of Wisdom this week and she loved it! She said that she's already living it, other than the tea. She apologized for drinking and told us that she'd never do it again. She is so prepared!

The weather is starting to cool down, which has reminded me of how much of a wimp I am! I hate the cold and it hurts me every time I get out of the car or walk out of someone's house. I love the way snow looks though! It snowed a little bit this week, but it's all melted for the most part by now. Looks like we might have a white Christmas this year! 

Thanks so much Mom for applying to UVU for me! You're the best! I'm glad I got accepted there. I'm still thinking that it's where I want to go. 

I love you so much and can't wait to talk to you in 31 days! I love Christmas! Not as much on the mission but it's still my favorite holiday! Hope you have a great week! Love you tons!

Love,

Jack

Jackson and Elder Christiansen, his new companion

Jackson and Elder Parra, who just came from the Mexico MTC with Jackson's cousin, Elder John Trendler

First snow of the year.

Christmas card pics. :)

Week #69

Hi Mom!  

So Elder Davis is being transferred! He's going to be a Zone Leader in the Cleveland Stake, which is neighboring zone! I'll still get to see him once a month at a meeting that we have as the Zone Leaders in the mission. My new companion is going to be Elder Christiansen! He's super awesome! I actually came out with him too! I don't know a lot about him but I'll send pictures next week. I'll pick him up tomorrow. 

This week was super great, but at the same time had some really heart breaking moments. 

So it started off with getting everything set up for Anthony's baptism! We had an interview scheduled with the bishop so that the bishop could meet him before he got baptized and we had a baptismal interview lined up with President Brown! Anthony was really excited to get baptized! Elder Davis and I went over to go see him this last week to talk to him a little more about his baptism. In our lesson, he told us that he wasn't going to be able to go through with the baptism. His reason being, he doesn't think that he'll be able to live all of the commandments after he gets baptized. We told him that there was only one perfect person that got baptized and that was Christ! We aren't expected to be perfect once we enter the waters of baptism! But regardless of what we said, he just really felt like he shouldn't be baptized, so we canceled the interview. He told us that he knows that church is true and that he wants to join, he just isn't ready. We're still working with him, in fact, we're going to have dinner with him tonight. So that was one of the most heart breaking moments just because he feels like he can't move on. I would be surprised if he didn't get baptized at some point in his life. He is such a kingdom builder. He's definitely one of the most prepared people that I have ever met! He's awesome!

Lauren is doing really good too! We still don't have a baptismal date for her though. We talked to her this week about getting baptized and she said that the only reason she doesn't want to get baptized is because she wants to get married in the Catholic church, just because she is familiar with it. She's single right now and just wants the Catholic church to be a stable thing in her life which is totally understandable. I think once we really get into eternal marriage that will change. She's such a kingdom builder as well! She told us she doesn't agree with some of the things that go on in the Catholic church which is definitely a step in the right direction! She also really believes that the Book of Mormon is true. She's basically a dry Mormon.

Yvette is doing awesome! So we have talked to her about a baptismal date quite a few times but she always says that she isn't ready! This week however, she told us that she would have to take a look at the baptismal font and come to church a few more times! She is totally going to get baptized! She's been crazy busy with work still but has been able to find time to keep the commitments we leave with her. She's retaining everything we teach her and loves the Book of Mormon! She'll be a great member of the church!

Frank is doing a lot better now! He's trying so hard to understand what we're teaching him. He finished the first book of Nephi and loved it! He's made some big steps forward. We're shooting for his baptism on the 3rd of December. He should reach that no problem. 

The highlight of the week was probably the fact that we found 6 new investigators! Elder Davis and I worked hard this week and followed the spirit which lead to a great amount of success. We both felt that the Lord was blessing us for our efforts we've put in the last 3 transfers as a companionship. 2 of the New investigators we found were a Mother and a daughter. Their names are Yasmond and Delores. We found them in the area book. I don't know why I decided to stop by them. There were no good leads in the area book, but I just felt like it would be a good idea. It was obviously the spirit working through me to bring the gospel to this family. 

One other guy that we picked up is name Julian. He is such a sincere guy! He told us that he was really searching for the true church. When we talked to him about the Book of Mormon, he was more than willing to read it! Can't wait to teach him more. 

Well I'm totally out of time today. We have a lot to do to get ready for transfers tomorrow! Hopefully it's okay if I send you a picture of me for the Christmas card next week. I love you lots Mom! Hope you have a good week! 

Love,

Jack

Jackson taking his duties on his bike very seriously!

Jackson and Elder Davis

Week #68

Hi Mom! 

Awesome week! but before I get into that, does Cooper have an email? If he does, I would like to have that. Also, if he can, put the email on his phone so he can check it whenever. I just feel like I haven't talked to that kid forever! I miss Liza like crazy too! I might try and write her a letter. It's a bummer though, we are so limited to time on p-days. 

So I guess to start with the bad news first... Frank is really going down hill. He's super awesome but he is really not accepting what we're teaching just as of this last week. Also, some days he says some stuff that is really out there. We pushed his baptismal date way back. We'll see if he can make it but right now he's being pretty flakey. Really sad but we're praying that he'll be able to figure it out. 

Anthony is doing amazing! He's working so hard at giving up coffee which is awsome! We're shooting for his baptism on the 19th of this month but we'll see if he can make that. It's crunch time so he can't have any coffee from here on out. He's pretty excited for his baptism. We've taught him everything already so now it comes down to him living commandments. Don't know if I mentioned this before, but Anthony feeds us all the time! Pretty much everytime we go over there he makes us a great meal! He's one of the nicest people I've ever met! I love him to death! Can't wait for you to meet him when we come back and visit!

Lauren is doing really well! We didn't meet with her last week because she was crazy busy but we're going to reset her baptismal date this week. She's been reading the Book of Mormon really consistently even though she's got a lot going on! She's the best! 

Yvette is doing awesome!! She has been reading the Book of Mormon a lot too! She hasn't been able to come to church though, due to her crazy work schedule. She has been working a ton! We're getting to the time of year where everyone's lives explode! The same thing happened last year. They all get really busy and it's hard to find a time where they're available to meet.

We found some awesome people this week! 

So yesterday we went and stopped by one of our potential investigators named Curtis. When we knocked on his door, his mom answered and said that she used to study with the Mormons when she lived in Buffalo NY! She said that she really enjoyed it! We invited her to come and listen while we taught her son Curtis but she was busy so we set up a time to come back. We're going back later tonight to go and teach curtis, Tangi (Curtis's Mom), and hopefully Curtis's Sister! We're going to teach the whole family! I'm so excited!! They're awesome! Oh and while we were there last time, as we were walking out the door, Tangi ran over to us and gave us some ribs she made! They were the greatest creation know to man kind.... Stoked to go see them tonight! 

We picked up a couple of other investigators this week but I'll let you know if and when they start to progress. 

Also, I forgot to tell you that this last transfer, Elder Brewer got transfered out of Ashland and went to Ashtabula with ELDER LAU!!! Brewer and Lau are together now and I was talking to Elder Brewer today and he said that it's so fun! I love both of those guys!

hope you have a good week! I can't wait to talk to you on Christmas! I miss you like crazy mom! you're my favorite! 

Love,

Jack

Week #67

Hi Mom!

Happy Halloween! Holidays as a missionary are funny. They just feel like normal days haha. We don't really have any fun plans other than going to Kirtland to meet up with some of the missionaries there to carve some pumpkins. We went to our ward halloween party on Friday night which was a ton of fun! We got to judge all the soups which was my favorite part of that haha! I have a large belly... No shame about it!

We had a great week with our investigators this week! We'll start off with Frank.

So Frank called us on Saturday night and told us that he wants to move his baptism up! He is scheduled to get baptized on the 19th of November but he really doesn't want to wait that long! He was wanting to get baptized this week! We still need to finish teaching him everything, which we'll do this week, and then he'll be all good to go! We might be able to push it up a week to the 12th of November! He is really working hard at understanding everything that we teach him! He's using this little note book we got him to write down what every single verse he reads means! I have never seen anyone put that kind of effort into understanding the gospel before! 

Anthony is really doing great too! We are probably going to push his baptismal date back a little bit so that he can have more time to live the commandments. He's still been crazy busy at work. Luckily, in 4 weeks, his work will slow down and he'll be able to focus more fully on the gospel. He is being worn pretty thin by his job but that hasn't stopped his love for the gospel. He still knows it's true.

Lauren is progressing like crazy! She's been super busy too especially with the world series going on! She is such a die hard baseball fan so she's been going crazy over the Indians! We don't have a solid baptismal date for her right now but she's really feeling like it's true. She has been seeing the difference the gospel makes in the lives of the members she has met and she's really wanting to have that change happen! I've already seen a change in her. I can't explain what that change looks like! The only way I know how to describe it is that she's got this light... I know everyone always says that but it's such a fitting way to describe her!

Yvette is the same way! She is loving the Book of Mormon! We reviewed Joseph Smith's story and she totally connected with it! She's really opened up to us! This week when we were teaching her, she said to us, as she raised her fist in the air,  "Guys, I'm not letting go". That was her way of letting us know that she means business and is really liking what we're teaching her! 

I love all of these people! I truly enjoy teaching all of them because they understand and hold on to everything we teach them with all of their might! I just imagine them holding onto that rod of iron in Lehi's dream, their knuckles turning white. This is the greatest work that I have EVER been involved in. I still can't believe the Lord trusts 18 year old boys to lead out this great work. That' proof of the truthfulness of this gospel. If an 18 year old kid can't screw it up then it must be true!

I think one of the best experiences this week was when we were on exchanges. Elder Wall and I were out knocking some doors. We got to this one that had a sign on it, telling us to go to the back door. We walked around and as we got to the back door, we saw a car with probably 5 or 6 bullet holes right through the passenger side of the windshield! So of course we took a picture of it! Haha I'll send it to you. But we're now teaching the lady that lives there! She's cool! 

So it was a pretty great week! I love you all so much! Hope you have a happy Halloween!

Love,

Jack

This is Parker, that Jackson taught in Ashland.

The windshield riddled with bullet holes.

Week #66

Hi Mom!

Way fun that Cooper got to do his Eagle Project! It looks like it was a ton of fun! I've been loving the New Testament. I think my favorite story is when the Man comes with his son and asks for Christ to help them. Such a great example of how he recognizes the unbelief that he has. So many great example of faith in there. I've recognized that the only thing that prevents me from seeing miracles in my missionary work is my unbelief. I'm really trying to focus my studies on Faith to try and strengthen my own.

Elder Vance is doing great. He's back in his new area. I talked to him on the phone earlier this week and he said that he doesn't even have any scabs on his face anymore. I can't remember if I sent you a picture of him after he got jumped but he's doing way good. Elder Wall is still in our apartment.

So I guess we don't know for sure if Elder Davis is leaving but we've been together for 3 transfers already so there is about a .01% chance that we'll stay together for another one. I would love to stay with him for another transfer! We get along super good and are really on the same page with everything we do. It's been fun being his companion. He'll probably get transferred on the 16th of November. I think I could be here for 2 more transfers after that. That would give me 4 transfers after that for my last area which would be awesome! That's how I'd like my mission to go, but we'll see what happens.

Our investigators are still doing super good! So we're really working with Anthony to help him get baptized by the 12th of November but I don't know if that will happen for sure. He is still struggling with a couple of the commandments and has been so crazy busy. He hasn't had a lot of time to come to church. It would be best if he started coming for all 3 hours. We'll see though.

Frank is still crushing it! He has been having a really hard time with retaining what we teach and what he reads so he's gotten very frustrated. He still wants to be baptized and we have a date set with him for the 19th of November. When we first set that date with him he wrote it down on his calendar and underneath the word "baptism", he wrote, "Be Ready!" He came to church on Sunday and loved it! He'll for sure be baptized before I leave this area though.

I think that Lauren is our most progressing investigator right now! Her testimony grows stronger and stronger every week. She texted us before our lesson this week and asked us if we could teach something specific. I have never had an investigator ask me that before but we accepted the challenge. She wanted us to teach her more about recognizing God's will and how to more fully align her will with Heavenly Father's. We brought Brother Bang with us, a member from our ward, and he gave so many great examples of how he had followed God's will in his life and the blessings that came from doing so. We're working right now to get her to church. She's usually got things going on in the afternoon and our church starts at 12:30 so she can't make it most weeks. At the start of the new year, our ward changes times to 9:00 AM which will be perfect for her! In the mean time, we're just going to have to help her recognize the importance of church. 

Yvette is doing SOOO GOOD!!! She came to church on Sunday and LOVED it! Her favorite part was for sure Relief Society! When we saw her afterwards, she was glowing! She told us she couldn't wait to come next week! We've been trying to set a baptismal date with her but she's been pretty hesitant. She feels like her baptism was good and doesn't see the need to be baptized again. Hopefully her experience at church helped her to feel the spirit and create a desire to be baptized. She's so great! I love teaching her because she just grasps what we teach so well! 

We weren't able to see Manny this week but we're going to try and see him this weekend. We've been doing a ton of finding trying to get more people to teach. We've got some good potential investigators but no great new investigators yet. I am loving this area! The people are awesome! My only complaint is that the weather is starting to cool down. I forgot how much of a wimp I am when it comes to the cold haha #AZforlife!! 

Love you so much Mom! Can't believe that Christmas is only 2 months away! Time is going by way too fast! Love you lots!

Love,

Jack

PS Thanks for the package and thanks for the letter Liza! You look so much older! Sad story though, the first day I wore the tie you sent me I stained it It's officially a tie I can only wear with a sweater haha! 

Week #65

Hey Mama!

First off, way jealous you guys went to Rocky Point haha! I love that place! Also, sad to hear about Nana's disease! I would love to have a little bit more info on it if you could send me some. 

This week was super cool! So we got to teach all of our progressing investigators and had killer lessons with them! They're all doing super good! Love it here in Shaker so much!

So we started off the week with teaching Lauren. She's really progressing which is awesome! We talked with her more about her baptism and how she feels about it. She told us that she doesn't feel ready and thinks she needs more time to learn and grow in the gospel. Slightly true. We do need to finish teaching her but she already knows that the Book of Mormon is true. Everything else will just fall into place. Another concern that she has is that her whole entire family is Catholic. It's a pretty big change for her to take on her own. She's not married or anything so she really would be completely alone in that sense. However, the entire ward is here to back her up. She hasn't quite figured that out. We are planning to take her to the Bang's house, a member family in the ward, for dinner with in the next 2 weeks or so. She's really doing great! 

Anthony is crushing it as well! He still is having a hard time finding time to read the scriptures, come to church, and have us come to teach him on a regular basis. His work is crazy busy. We had to reschedule his baptismal date for the 12th of November. That will be the last Saturday that Elder Davis is in the area so we're really working with him to make that date! He should be able to. He just needs to work a little harder on keeping commitments. 

Frank is a baller without a doubt! A week ago we asked Frank to read a specific chapter in the Book of Mormon and when we asked him how it went at our last lesson, he told us that he read it 3 times so that he could have a really good understanding of it! Such an awesome guy! Then we talked about baptism and when we set a baptismal date with him he was so excited! He's AWESOME! So excited for Frank to get baptized! I also found out the missionaries that contacted him initially! Their names are Elder Kay and Elder Buxton. That's all I got so good luck with that. 

Yvette is loving the gospel right now! She is excited for our lessons every time we come and is doing her very best to understand everything that we teach her! She's working on coming to church but is having a hard time with work. Seriously love her though! She's awesome!!!

Had a great experience this last week with tracting though! As we were out knocking some doors, a guy, Manny, answered and was super open to us! As we talked to him more, he told us that he grew up in Las Vegas and had some really good friends that were members of the church! It was pretty evident that he respected them which is for sure why he talked to us. Just another example of how big a role members play in missionary work whether they recognize it or not! We're going to see him this coming weekend and I'll let you know how that goes.

In my personal study I've been reading through the gospels. I've been focusing on that so much so that I can come to know Christ better. I just feel like I've become less acquainted with him in the last few months. It's been great to read through that and feel my relationship with the savior grow.

I don't think there's any area that I am really dying to serve in. I have loved every area that I've been. It really comes down to the attitude you have of the area! I think every area is the best area so I would love to go anywhere!

My favorite thing about shaker Heights is the people for sure! We have part of Cleveland ghetto so we get to talk with lots of people that keep life interesting. We also have wealthier areas where we get to talk to people that are more stable. It's a really good balance. Love the area, love the people, love the work.

Glad you guys had a good week! I miss you so much and am for sure excited to see you at Christmas! Have a good week!

Love, 

Jack

Week #64

Hi Mom!

Elder Vance is doing a lot better! I think that he might still be having minor headaches when he wakes up but his memory is fine. He should be going to his new area, Massillon, either today or tomorrow. This whole experience has definitely made us all a lot more aware of where we are and when we're there. Elder Wall is still in the same area and he seems to be doing fine. I don't think that he's too shaken up from it and spiritually they're both doing great! Such a blessing that neither of them are too seriously hurt!

So, Anthony is still doing really well, as always! He's been crazy busy with work which has been a big challenge for him. Still knows the church is true and loved conference! We're working to get him baptized this month, but we might have to push it into November. 

Lauren is really reading and praying about the Book of Mormon right now. She wants to know if it's true more than ever! She has some great fellowship in the church! She still hasn't been to a normal church service, so that's our goal with her this week, to get her to church. She's crushing it with reading the Book of Mormon though! She has done great with applying the scriptures to her self! So excited for her! I don't know if I told you how we started teaching her. It all started with a member of the church. Lauren's neighbors were members of the church, but they've since moved. While the members were living there, they gave Lauren a Book of Mormon. We had record of that in our Area book so we stopped by. She told us that she hadn't touched the book but that she'd be more than willing to learn more about it! Super cool to see the influence of members on the lives of others!

Now for the miracle of the week!!!

So this week we decided to call Frank. I don't remember if I told you that Frank told us he wasn't ready to meet yet after he came to church a few weeks ago, but he did. He told us we could meet with him again the beginning of the new year... Well we decided to call Frank to check on him and try to set up a time to meet with him this week. He answered and told us he wasn't ready! We didn't understand, but just went with it. Then later that day, Frank called back and said we could come by on Saturday!!! We were both overjoyed! However, the following day, Frank called us AGAIN and said he wasn't ready! We were so frustrated, so we told Frank he was ready and that we would still love to see him! So he agreed to have us come. We went over and talked to him about the Book of Mormon. He said he new it was true, so I asked him, "Frank, will you be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood Authority of God?" He looked at me right in the eyes and said, "I've been thinking about getting baptized. When can it be done?" Elder Davis and I were so stoked! Frank is awesome! He came to church yesterday and loved it! Frank is such a miracle! We're going to zone in on a date for his baptism this Saturday when we meet with him again.

That's pretty much it for this week. Having tons of fun here in the Shaker Ward! Love missionary work and love the Lord!

Have a good week! 

Love,

Jack

Week #63

Hey Mom!

So before I get into spiritual things and happy things, I have a crazy story! Just so you're not worried as I tell you just know that everyone is okay now.

This story begins Sunday evening right after the final session of General Conference. 

At this time it's 7:45. Elder Davis and I were out stopping by some potential investigators but weren't having any luck. We had knocked on a lot of empty houses and had a few people tell us they weren't interested. We had dinner planned for the end of the night at about 8 o'clock. We got in the car and were just about to start heading home to go eat some grub when we got a call from a random phone number. We answered with our typical intro of "Hi, it's the missionaries, Elder Scoresby and Elder Davis." On the other end of the line was a shaken up voice. It was Elder Vance, one of the missionaries we live with. He told us that him and his companion, Elder Wall had both been jumped. Then a random man came on the phone and told us that they had been hurt pretty bad and that an ambulance was on it's way. We got of where they were and drove it like we stole it over there. For the entire 15 minute drive there, we were in complete silence, thinking the worst. 

By the time we got there, Elder Vance and Elder Wall were both in the back of the Ambulance and there were two police cars on the scene. When we opened the back of the ambulance, Elder Vance was laying there on a stretcher with a decent amount of blood on his shirt and face. Elder Wall was sitting beside him looking untouched. Anyway, we ended up following the ambulance to the hospital where we were led to where Elder Wall, just outside Elder Vance's room. When we saw Elder Wall this second time, he had quite obviously been punched right in the face. He had swollen up pretty bad but looked better than Elder Vance by a long shot. 

After all the scans and x-rays, they found that Elder Vance had a slightly fractured skull, nothing that would require surgery. We sat around in the waiting room of the hospital for a good 5 hours, really just waiting for Elder Wall to get checked up so that we could leave. By the time we were good to go, it was 4 in the morning. President Brown was waiting with us at the hospital the whole time and told us we should go home and hit the hay so we did just that. We left Elder Vance in the hospital so that his wounds could heal. As you can imagine, going to be at 4 in the morning threw off our schedule a little bit. We're doing well now and have Elder Vance here with us now. He's still not doing great but he'll be fine. 

Just a brief story of what happened to them. They had just stopped by an investigator and were getting their bikes when a group of 6 gangster came up to them and took everything they had. Elder Wall was choked out and punched a few times but Elder Vance was pretty much beat on until the guys' fists hurt. We're pretty sure that these guys were just targeting them because they were white. We're upset with those chumps to say the least. 

Other than that our week was good. Lauren and Anthony came to conference. We set a baptismal date with Lauren and she's pretty excited about it. 

So sorry for the lack of info this week but Elder Vance isn't doing great. We've got to get him home. Love you so much and hope you have a great rest of the week! I loved conferece too!!!!!

Love, Jack

Week #62

Hey Mom!

I love hearing about the family! I miss them so much! I wouldn't be upset if you sent me pictures of you guys! I don't need anything fancy... just take random pictures of the kids! I have some funny ones of the family I'll have to send you hehe! 

So we are having a little trouble with Frank. He doesn't want to meet with us until the new year or maybe later. He said that he wants to wait until he moves to a new apartment. I'm really hoping that we can convince him otherwise. He is so golden! He loved church and really wants to come back! I want to teach him again so bad!

Anthony does have a baptismal date. He is so amazing! Everything we teach him he accepts and knows it to be true! He is probably the first person that I have taught that made the connection that if the Book of Mormon is true, then so is everything else in this church. He's progressing really well and is doing great at being a missionary himself! He pretty much lets everyone know that he's going to be a Mormon. He's getting a lot of persecution for it. He has had people come up to him while he's been reading the Book of Mormon somewhere and tell him that he isn't Christian and that he shouldn't be reading that book. He tell us jokingly that he wants to beat them up. He has such a firm testimony, I don't think anything or anyone can shake him! His new baptismal date is for the 15th of October. I'm hoping we don't have to push it back any more. 

Pam doesn't have a baptismal date yet. She is having a really hard time right now financially. She is super stressed so it's hard to get her to slow down and feel the spirit in our lessons. Hopefully we'll get to set a date with her this week. I love to see the spirit touch her. She always tells us that she feels better after our lessons. I'm hoping she can find time to read and make it a priority in her life to progress in the gospel. She's awesome!

Lauren is doing AMAZING as well! She is strong in her Catholic faith but she is loving the Book of Mormon right now! She's coming to church next week! We still haven't set a baptismal date with her but we're getting close. She is improving so much its crazy! I love teaching people the gospel!

This week was a rough one with finding new investigators and with meeting with all of our investigators. I just feel like there isn't enough time in the day to do everything! It's crazy. I'm not sure if this week will be a whole lot better because we have Mission Leadership council on Tuesday, which doesn't get over until about 4:00, and then we have to travel back, which takes us to about 5:00. Then we have to plan for zone training meeting, and then we have zone training meeting on Thursday, so it might be a little crazy. It will all work out though. 

Oh and I didn't even know Ansley got married!!!! That's insane!!!!!!! 

Love you so much! Have a good week!

Love,

Jack

The title of Liberty Jackson and Elder Davis made for training on Jackson's pillowcase.

Jackson in the new ties we sent him. :)

Jackson took a bunch of pictures of Cleveland.