Week #82

Hi Mom!

What the heck! Stop changing the house! It's going to be so different when I get home haha, just kidding. 

I was really sad to hear about Kevin. I hope that the Curtis family will be okay. I feel so sorry for their family. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have an addiction like that. There was a girl in the Ashland ward that was struggling with a similar problem, and while I was there she passed away. I'll be praying for the Curtis family. 

I'm in a two Elder Apartment. I forgot the cord for my camera so I'll have to send some pictures next week. Our apartment is pretty crappy, haha! It's awesome! I get along super well with Elder Wheelwright! He's so awesome! He's from Utah. He's super good at loving the people that we're teaching. You can really feel the love he has in his teaching! This area is the freaking best too! We're meeting with a few solid people that I'm really excited about. I'll go through a few of them.

Caroline is the first. She is an older lady. She's been investigating for a while now. She lives in a nursing home but is sharp as a tack. She has some physical challenges, but mentally is solid. Her only hold up right now is her mother. Caroline lives in the same nursing home as her mother. Unfortunately, her mom is struggling with her health. She is wanting to spend as much time with her as possible, which is preventing her from coming to church. Otherwise, she is ready to be baptized. I'm very excited about her!

Someone that I'm stoked about is Robert! I met him yesterday for the first time. They found him right before I got here. Actually, Robert found them! He ran over to the missionaries and asked if he could meet with them! His mom was a member of the Sandusky ward a few years ago before she passed away from cancer. He's not a member and has a limited knowledge of the gospel. He has a very strong desire to come to know if the Book of Mormon is true. I felt the spirit so strongly as we taught him the Restoration yesterday. I would be very surprised if he didn't end up joining the church. He's really searching for the truth and I know he'll find it.

We also met a guy named Lawrence yesterday. He's a former investigator and is very willing to have us come and talk to him about the Book of Mormon. He told us he'll read and pray, but he can't promise that he'll become a convert. (That's what they all say!) We're going to see him again later this week to see if he read.

We're also working with a less active, part member family. The members name is Dustin. He's been a member his whole life, but he ran with the wrong crowd going up, and has lived a pretty rough life ever since. He was in the hospital the last week for a back surgery. He told us that he wants to change and start coming back to church. He also told us his kids want to learn as well! Can't wait to get in and start teaching his family. 

The members here are beyond willing to help us with anything! I'm pretty sure this ward is the highest baptizing ward in the mission! The ward mission leader here is on fire! I know that we'll continue to baptize! It's a great ward and a great area! 

Love you so much Mom! Thanks for the Birthday package a couple weeks ago and for the Valentines package! You're the best Mom ever! I love you a whole lot! Hope you have the best week ever! By the way, Dad sent me pictures of Noah at the Zoo and I can't wait to meet that little guy! He's adorable! Reminds me of Jadin! Love you! 

Love,

Jack

Week #81

Jackson is transferring to Sandusky, Ohio this week.  Here's his new address:

Elder Jackson Scoresby
106 W. Boalt St., Apt. 2
Sandusky, OH  44870

Hi Mom!!!

As you already know, I'm being transferred! I'm going to Sandusky to be a District Leader! I'm pretty excited about having the opportunity to serve as a DL. I'm sure I'll have a great time! I'll get to work on a closer, more personal level with the missionaries I serve. I've always been a little frustrated about how distant we are as zone leaders. My new companion will be Elder Wheelright. (I'll have more accurate spelling on his name next week, I just took a shot in the dark.) I came out with Elder Wheelright too! Once I am with Elder Wheelright, I will have served with 3 of the 26 or so missionaries that came out with me! I've heard a lot of good about Elder Wheelright so I'm stoked to be his companion! 

It has been sad the last couple of days saying goodbye to people. I think the Van Leuven family was one of the harder ones to say goodbye to. They are a powerhouse family! Their daughter, McKenna wrote me a note and gave me a picture. They're such a sweet family! I will for sure come back to visit with them! 

It has been a bummer. I really wanted to take another picture with Anthony and Lauren but we haven't seen either of them for a couple of weeks. Anthony has been out of town and Lauren has been crazy busy! They're both awesome and I'll miss them a lot! 

I feel like we didn't do a lot this week. We did a lot of finding, knocking doors and talking to people on the streets, but didn't have any immediate success with that. We did, however meet with a lot of my favorite Less Active ladies. There are a ton black women in this ward that are inactive in the wintertime because of health, travel conditions, and so on. They love it when we come and visit them! Their testimonies always strengthen mine and help me to keep moving forward. I'll send some pictures of me with a couple of them. Their names are Sister Olive Griffin, Rose Roberts, and Elizabeth Dinkins. It has been so fun to get to know each of them and develop strong, lasting friendships. 

I'm looking forward to my new area! I always love getting to know more people! I know that there are so many fantastic experiences to be had ahead. I'm going to work my butt off! One goal that I have for this next area is to find a family, consisting of a mother, father, and at least one child, that I can help bring into the gospel. I have wanted this for the last 18 months and I think it's time to make it happen in Sandusky. I can't wait to meet all the people in Sandusky! I've loved all my areas and I'm sure it will be no different for my next, and quite possibly my last area. 

I love you so much Mom! I can't wait to see the family in 6 months and see how much each one of them have changed. I'm sure Bennett has matured a lot but I bet I could beat him in a wrestling match! I have to establish dominance before he goes on his mission!!! If Cooper is up for the challenge, I'll wrestle him too haha! Love you Mom! Hope you guys have a great week! 

Love,

Jack

Sister Rose Roberts

Jack says this is typical Cleveland

Jackson with Sister Dinkins and her son David

Brother Gupta- They gave a blessing to his wife.

Brother Gupta with all the missionaries in Jack's apartment

The awesome Van Leuven family, that took such great care of Jack in Cleveland!

Jackson and Elder Christiansen

The Van Leuven kids. 

Week #80

Hi Mom! 

I'm excited for Jackson Arnett! He's a good kid and I'm glad that he's going on a mission! It's crazy to think that all those boys are going to be on missions when I get home! It's even crazier to think that Bennett and all his friends will be leaving right when I get back! I'm sure it's hard to send your sons on missions but it's definitely the best thing that they could ever experience. It really doesn't feel that long ago that we said goodbye at the curb of the MTC. It's honestly hard for me to believe that it was 18 months ago!

Well I've got some bad news... Latrice is no longer investigating. Such a mega bummer! We had an appointment set for last Friday or something and we called her Thursday night to confirm the appointment. When we called, as soon as we told her that we were the missionaries, she hung up on us. We called again later and she rejected our call. When we stopped by at the time of our appointment, she was pulling out of her driveway. Luckily, we were able to talk to her as she was leaving. She told us to come back the following day. So the next day, during companionship study, we called her to make sure the appointed time would still work for her. We called, she answered, we told her it was the missionaries, and she hung up. Such a sad moment! That was proof to me that people can feel the spirit when you teach but they sometimes don't latch on and end up rejecting what you're trying to teach them. 

We have been struggling to see our other investigators. Lauren was out of town this week and so was Anthony. Anthony's mom is still doing okay. Don't know when he'll be back. May not be for a while. 

We stopped by Eric and Terri last night. They weren't home but all their kids were and they told us to come by on Saturday. I want to teach that family so bad! There were at least 7 or 8 kids there last night and I think that most of them are Terri and Eric's! It would be so cool to have them come to church and fill up an entire pew! I'll let you know how it goes next week.

We had a great miracle this week! So Elder Christiansen and I stopped by a Less Active member but they were busy and unable to meet. As we walked back to our truck, this couple walked past and we shared a card with them. We didn't get their names or anything but as they walked away, the man said, "I'm excited to talk to you more!" We didn't think much of it. Then that night, we got a media referral for someone named Eric, wanting a Book of Mormon. We went to deliver it and the guy we talked to earlier answered the door! He had called the number after we gave him the card! Just a couple of days before, I had said to Elder Christiansen that I wanted someone to call the number on the card! Heavenly Father watches out for us and wants to bless us with success. 

This week it snowed a bunch so we helped a ton of people shovel their snow! One of the ladies we helped, who isn't a member, said that she was going to have us over for dinner before I got transferred! She is super cool and is really good friends with Carrie Rhodes, a member of the ward here in Shaker. We'll see if we can end up teaching her and her family! 

As far as transfers go, I would be very surprised if I didn't leave next week. I've been in Shaker for over 7 months now. I have no idea where I'm going to go. Hopefully I'll be a zone leader in another area. That way, I get to go to Mission Leadership Council and see all the other Elders and Sisters that go there. The only place that I don't want to go is North Olmstead... The only reason I don't want to go there is because that's the assistant's area and I think it would be pretty hard to be an AP. Anywhere else I'll gladly go! I'll let you know on Tuesday where I'm off to.

They made a bunch of changes to the missionary daily schedule too! I'll send you the document with all the changes but it's essentially the same with more flexibility. 

Love you so much Mom! Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Jack