Week #93

Hi Mom!

Oh my gosh I can't believe that Bennett's papers are in! That freaks me out. It doesn't feel real that I'll be coming home and he'll be leaving. I must say that I'm excited to come home. Not trunky though! There is definitely a difference. Trunky is when you lose motivation and that isn't going to happen. Like I was telling Dad, I've worked way too hard to give up now. This area reminds me of Ashland. That area was hard to get rolling but once we did, it took off! I'm thinking that is what will happen here in Sandusky! At least I'm hoping. We were able to pick up 2 new investigators this week which was a step in the right direction. One of those investigators was Jordan. His throat is doing a lot better. He hasn't gotten the stitches out yet but it's getting there. He has a cute little family. He's married with 2 little girls and another baby girl on the way! I would love to teach his whole family! His wife is insanely shy though. We'll get there. Jordan committed to read the Book of Mormon this week and we'll see him tomorrow to follow up on that. He will be a solid convert. He has a great understanding of living a Christ centered life. It was so nice, he said that the other day, when it was raining really hard, he drove around Sandusky looking for us so that he could give us a ride. Such a nice guy! Unfortunately he didn't find us so we got dumped on! I'll get to that story in a second haha.

Caroline is doing okay. She's still slowly getting better. We're going to try and focus on getting her to church this week to help her feel the spirit more abundantly in her life. That will no doubt help her through this trial. 

We'll be seeing Dustin and his family tonight. They are so awesome! I'm stoked to teach them more and help them accept the gospel. This week we helped Dustin in his crawl space under his house and it was so muddy under there! I was covered in mud! It felt so good to get dirty though! I never get to do that!

An awesome miracle that happened yesterday! So Elder Ellsworth and I were stopping by former investigators, trying to see if any of them were interested again. We went by one and the guy we were looking for had moved. A little kid answered the door so we just gave him a card for a free DVD about Jesus Christ. About 10 minutes later, we got a text telling us that a little kid on the street that we were just at ordered a DVD! It was awesome! I love it when people order stuff! Referrals are the best! 

Now for my story about getting caught in the rain... This last Sunday, we were out tracting on a street that was about a mile and a half from home. We had walked there so we could save some miles (and work on getting more holes in my shoes). We finished one side of the street we were on and were planning on going on to the other side. That was when we saw them... the clouds coming in from the West! They were quite possibly the darkest clouds that I have ever beheld. There was nothing we could do to avoid this storm. Those clouds were moving at the speed of light. We began the long walk of shame back to our apartment. About 60 seconds after we began our retreat back to the comfort of our home, the rain hit. I would say that within half a minute I was soaked to the bone. It felt as though I had jumped into a pool! We had no umbrella. All I had was a windbreaker that does a great job at attracting and retaining water... Not ideal for rain storms. I have never been that wet my entire mission. Despite the seemingly tragic circumstances, Elder Ellsworth and I were both laughing as we walked through the rain. As we walked down the street which had transformed almost instantly into a river, we saw Kevin, an investigator we picked up earlier that day. He stood in his garage nice and dry and waved us over. He looked at us with a slight grin. We talked with him for a little bit under his dry roof and then, once again, walked along the bank of the river (the side walk). By the time we got home, we were dripping wet. The only dry spot on my entire body was my back pocket, which had my wallet! MIRACLE! Everything else, literally everything, even the contents of my bag, were soaked haha! Good times. 

I don't know when I'll be skyping. I'll let you know when I find out.

Happy Birthday Mom and Cooper!!!!! Can't believe Coop is already 15! That is so old! Miss you guys a ton! Love you Mom! You're the greatest!

Love,

Jack

Jackson and Elder Ellsworth after getting caught in a massive downpour.

                                              

Week #92

Hi Mom!!!!!

This was kind of an interesting week. So I told you last week about all those people that we met and had appointments set up with. Well it turns out, they are all super flakey! All of them flamed us and one of them blocked our number haha! The tough life as a missionary. We have been doing so much tracting and contacting it's crazy! There will most definitely be holes in the bottoms of my shoes by the time I'm done with this area! The only struggle is turning these people into investigators now. No one can seem to keep a solid appointment! Last week we called a potential to make sure we were still good to come for our lesson which was less than 30 minutes from that time. She said it was still going to work for her. Sure enough, when we got there, she wasn't home. Such a struggle! Only if people would be strait up with us. 

We did meet this really cool guy that is willing to have us come back though. His name is Jordan and he's the only one that had a legit excuse to not being able to meet with us this week. While he was at work, he some how cut his throat open way bad but told us to come back soon. Awesome guy.

All of our investigators, besides Caroline, are really struggling right now. Robert is just having a horrible time with his Dad. His dad is in the hospital and it doesn't appear that he's going to get any better. He still wants to meet, just not right now. 

We dropped Denitra and Lauren. They kept giving us really lame excuses so we decided we need to give them a break. I think they'll be prepared down the road though. 

Another super cool thing that happened this week was with Dustin, a Less Active member of the ward. So we have been trying really hard to meet with Dustin for the past 2 months. We have finally gotten back in contact with him. We set up a family home evening lesson with them, which we had yesterday and it was AWESOME!!!!! Out of his 5 kids and his Fiance, Dustin is the only member. None of them really have a solid background with religion but they all seem to be interested in it. Dustin knows that the gospel will bless not only him but his family as well. He's so awesome! They're a great family! Slightly crazy, but who isn't haha! 

We're working hard, Lots and lots of tracting! Hopefully next week I'll get to tell you about all the new investigators we got! But if not, that's okay too... I love you a bunch! 

Congrats Bennett for putting  your papers in! It feels like I did that yesterday! Love you Mom! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #91

Hi Mom!

This week was a lot better than the last! We didn't see a whole lot happen last week but this week we have started to see some miracles. Last week was the phase we had to make it through in order to receive great blessings in the weeks to come. I found great peace at the temple and it helped me to be able to gain a little bit of motivation. It was a great experience!

Training is going okay. The trainer trainee relationship is one of the most difficult relationships. We have struggles sometimes but we are very open with each other and can resolve any conflicts that we have almost instantly. We'll for sure stay together for at least one more transfer but I have a feeling that Elder Ellsworth is going to be my last companion. I hope that I don't have to get a new companion and have to readjust. I told President Brown in interviews that I would prefer to end my mission here in Sandusky but also that I am willing to have a one transfer area at the very end if he needed me to. I would be pretty bummed if that happened but it's all good. 

The district is going pretty well. One of the Elders here I came out with. His name is Elder Miller. He's awesome! We get along really well and have a ton of fun together. Our district is slowly growing in unity. We're all friends but the sisters aren't as close with us this transfer as they were the last one. 

We haven't been able to meet with Heather again. She has been sick the last week and is still getting over it. When we called her, she said she still really wants to meet with us. She's earnestly seeking truth so it will be a blast to teach her. Yesterday, Elder Ellsworth and I walked a crap ton of miles, doing some tracting and contacting. We found some amazing people! On one street we found 3 families that were all interested and we have return appointments for later this week. We also found a Less Active member that just moved here and wants to get back into church and we found a guy that is really struggling right now. He's going through some pretty major trials right now and really needs God in his life. He recognized us as servants of God and was stoked to meet with us. Hopefully we'll be able to turn these potentials into investigators this week. We've been hurting on finding new investigators.

A sad yet powerful experience this week came when we visited with Caroline. We went by to see her last Saturday and I can't remember if I mentioned before or not but her mom lives in the same nursing home as her. Caroline's mother has struggled with her health ever since I have been here in Sandusky. Before we got down to Caroline's room on Saturday, a nurse stopped us and told us that her mother had passed away earlier in the day. I knew that Caroline was going to be taking it pretty hard. As soon as she saw us she started to cry. As I came up close to her, I dropped to my knees next to her wheelchair and gave her a hug. She clung to me and cried for close to 10 minutes. As this went on, all I could feel was peace. I knew that it was going to be okay. Since then, we've been visiting Caroline often to keep her spirits high. She's doing pretty well. She's a positive person so I'm sure she'll be fine.

All of our other investigators keep flamming or canceling on us which is super frustrating. It was a huge blessing to find so many amazing people yesterday though. 

I can't think of much else to mention. I wish I could call you and tell you everything! I guess I'll just have to wait a couple of weeks! I love you tons and thanks SO MUCH for the Easter package! Those quarters are awesome! You're the best mom!!!!! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #90

Hi Mom!!!

So sorry that I'm emailing you before you get to email me. I won't have any time to email tomorrow so we decided to today. 

This week was full of walking! We've been working hard to find new investigators and luckily the weather has been fairly cooperative. However, on Thursday it just rained all day long! Elder Ellsworth and I had been walking in it for hours, doing stop bys and trying to talk to people. We were going to take dinner at 8pm and just work all day long. It had been one of those days that drags on SO long! Well it was 7 pm, close to dinner time, and we had planned to go tracting. I was dreading it, not wanting to be wet anymore. I decided after knocking on the first door that I was going to try and lighten up the mood. Both of us were just about ready to call it quits. I saw this monster of a puddle so without taking time to think about the consequences, I jumped as high as I could and planted both feet firm in the center of the puddle. I probably sent a 6 foot radius of water in all directions. Elder Ellsworth and I almost fell over we laughed so hard! We continued to tract even though we were soaking wet! I made sure to jump in every single puddle I could on the walk home! Then we decided that we needed to take the edge off by going to get some buffalo wild wings for dinner. Good times! That's how we turn a crappy day into a memorable experience!

We picked up a new investigator this week which was great! Her name is Abbagail, unfortunately, today she sort of dropped us. She is still willing to meet, but only to hear what we believe, not out of the intention of joining. Hopefully she will change her mind. 

We also have a great potential investigator named Heather. I can't remember if I told you about her already or not but we found her through tracting. I saw this street called vine street, and back in Ashland there was a street called vine street. The only thing I remember about Vine Street in Ashland was that every single person we talked to on the street was either super angry or completely ignored us. I wanted to see if all vine streets were that way. So that's how we decided to tract vine street in Sandusky. Heather, the mother of I think 7 or 8 kids is so prepared! She has been searching for truth but hasn't been satisfied by what she has seen in other religions. She has turned to her own study of the bible. She was pumped when we told her about the Book of Mormon. She has some hang ups on "the whole Joseph Smith thing" but is willing to read and pray. We were going to teach her last weekend but she got way sick so we are planning to see her this weekend if she is feeling better. 

Like I said, tomorrow we're going to the temple. I'm so excited to have some time to soak up the spirit. It is much needed right now. I'm feeling a little beaten down and the temple is what I need to recharge my batteries! We're going to the 11 am session and the 1 pm session. So excited! 

In closing, a wise joke from my companion....

- What did the buffalo say to his son when he went to college?

"Bison"

HAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!

Love you Mom! ! I can't believe April is almost half way over! I feel like its still March. That just means that I'll get to talk to you before I know it! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #89

Hi Mom!

This week was definitely an interesting one. The move went well. We finished unpacking yesterday so it took forever. I was so used to just packing my suit cases and calling it good but we had to move all our furniture and everything as well. It was so worth it though! Our new apartment is about 54 times better than our last one. We have a lot more open space and it doesn't have 10 years worth of missionary crap every where. Our new location is much quieter. Our last apartment was uncomfortably close to a rail road track which was unfortunate. My body eventually figured out how to sleep through anything! But now we can hardly hear the soothing blare of a train horn off in the distance. I would say the only down side of our new apartment is that we have to pay a fortune for laundry! It costs a buck 50 for a wash and a buck 50 for a dry! Oh well, I didn't want to go to college anyway.

We have done a lot of finding this week. I always have so much fun talking to different people! We tracted and contacted for many hours yesterday and I had a blast. Elder Ellsworth and I were so beat by the end of the day. I fell asleep in a matter of seconds. My feet still hurt from walking haha! I don't know if I told you but I have a goal to wear a hole in the bottoms of my brown shoes that you gave me last christmas. I think I'm getting close bit it's going to take a lot of walking in the next 4 months! 

Some of our investigators are still struggling with keeping appointments but some are doing better. Denitra is one of the ones that is doing better. We FINALLY got to meet with her AND her daughter Lauren. They both want to learn together. I think that they will help each other keep commitments and really progress. Denitra has so many questions and hungers after understanding so she's fun to teach. Lauren just sits back and takes it all in. Our lesson with them was good. We went over the Restoration with them which brought up a lot of questions but also answered a lot. Denitra might take a while to teach because she wants to understand perfectly. I think that will help her want to read and learn on her own which would be great!

On Saturday, we went and did some tracting in between sessions. I was so fired up from conference and determined to find someone to teach. We knocked on this one door with who knows how many kids inside. When Heather, the mom came to the door, she was very willing to talk to us. She has been searching for the truth for a long time. She has stopped going to church and has been reading the bible on her own to find answers. Her story reminded me exactly of Joseph Smith's. We told her that all her questions can be answered from the Book of Mormon. She was stoked to read it! We're going to see her this Saturday and teach the full Restoration to her which should answer all of her questions. She's amazing! 

We have a few other potentials that we've got. Elder Ellsworth has been really good at being real with people and making an instant connection with them which has really helped us to find more potentials. Like I said, finding is blast for me! I love it! When the weather gets even warmer and Cedar point opens up, there are going to be so many people to talk to! 

Love you so much mom! Can't wait to talk to you in a few weeks! I miss you guys like crazy! It will be even better to give you a hug in LESS THAN 4 MONTHS! I already have marked on my calendar for the 27th of July "give mom a hug!" Looking forward to that! Love you! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #88

Hi Mom!! 

This week was so much fun! Elder Ellsworth and I are having a great time together! He's a great kid! I think that he is the least home sick person I have ever met! He's 21 and is from Utah. He has already spent many years away from home so he's pretty well adjusted to that aspect of the mission. He's one of the most energetic people I've ever met haha! He's sometimes hard to keep up with! I love it! We work so unbelievably hard. We've been doing tons of finding. Elder Ellsworth has been getting the hang of contacting and tracting. It's so fun to see him grow and change! it reminds me so much of when I was being trained. But like I said, we get along really well and have a blast together!

As far as investigators go, we have been struggling with meeting all of them. We still get to see Caroline pretty frequently but other than that, it's pretty spotty. Caroline is doing great! We're working on getting her to read more consistently from the Book of Mormon. We're taking it slow with her. She's going through a hard time right now but hopefully, we can help her eventually work towards baptism. 

Robert is doing okay. We are cracking down on smoking with him. He wants so badly to live the word of wisdom but can't shake addictions. I think we're going to try and do some of the addiction recovery program with him to help him fight addiction. He's such a solid dude! 

The weather is starting to warm up so more and more people are outside. We've been talking to EVERYONE trying to find those that are prepared. We are seriously working so dang hard! I sleep like a rock every night because of how hard we're working each day. 

We went on exchanges with the zone leaders yesterday we had a great pillow talk. That's just when we talk as we lay in bed. We stayed up and talked way too long! We didn't get to sleep until 2:30 in the morning! I was so dead the next day. I now firmly believe that red bull was a divinely inspired creation. Without it, I wouldn't have gotten through the day! 

I'm excited to be with Elder Ellsworth. We are going to make this area blow up! It's going to be sweet! 

Love you so much mom! You're the best! Thanks for helping me out with school! 

Love,

Jack

Week #87

Hi Mom!

Just a heads up, this email is probably going to be crappy. I can't remember what the heck happened this week and I forgot my planner so I can't go back and look at it. I'll try and update you as much as possible.

I guess I'll start off with the big news of this week. Elder Wheelwright is leaving me! Unfortunately we don't get to stay together for another transfer. I was really hoping that we'd get to work hard with each other for one more transfer but he's been called else where. He's going to be serving in the Lakewood area. He's actually opening up a new area and shotgunning (Whitewashing). He's way excited about that. I have been called to train a new missionary! I'm sort of really scared! I don't want to mess up haha but I'm sure it will all work out. I'm excited to have a new missionary that will have a full tank of gas! We're going to work so hard together! Every companionship in my district will be changing so that's kind of sad! I'm going to miss them all so much! It's all good though. One of the Elders coming to my district came out with me so we'll probably die here together! 

Will you remind me of where I'm living up in Utah? I can't remember what it's called. And is there any room for another person to live there? Elder Wheelwright might want to live there but I don't know anything haha. 

I can only remember on cool experience from this week. Elder Wheelwright and I were walking to a potential investigator's house when some random guy pulled up to us in his truck and asked us what we were doing. We told him that we were missionaries and of course, started talking to him about the Restoration. He seemed really interested so we're going to call him and set up a time to meet. Also, he's working on a house that's pretty close to us and we offered to help him, so we may be helping him remodel his home some time this coming week. 

Sorry for the pathetic email this week! I promise next week will be better! I love you! Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Jack