Week #52

Hi Everyone! 

Okay so an update on the area where I am serving... I'm in the Kirtland zone but my area is Shaker Heights. We have a really great area because we have such a variety of people to teach. We have some super ghetto places and then we have some wealthy areas. Everyone is awesome here! I love this area already. Elder Davis and I are getting along really well and having fun together. Turns out that I came out into the mission field with Elder Davis! Super cool so we get to celebrate our year mark together! Elder Davis is from Seattle, Washington and yes he is the zone leader with me. Really all we do as zone leaders is relay info from president brown to the missionaries and info from the missionaries to the assistants. All it is is more responsibility but it's still fun.

We have a few really solid investigators right now that I'm super excited about! I can really see most of them joining the church in the near future which really excites me! One of our investigators that we just picked up this week is a 17 year old girl named Dejah. Its pronounced like you would say dejavoo but without the voo obviously. But funny story of how we found her... So Elder Davis and his previous companion would go get hot fudge sundays from McDonalds all the time and would give pass along cards to the people in the drive through and Dejah was one of those lucky people! She called the number on the back of the card to get a copy of the Book of Mormon and she's loving it so far! She should be at church this coming Sunday which is AWESOME. She is super spiritual and super funny too! She's understanding everything that we teach super well which is awesome! Everything we tell her just clicks in her head. Love watching her learn and grow!

Our other solid investigator is named Anthony and his sister is a member of the church in California. He talks a lot about his nephew who served a mission and he loves missionaries! He came to church yesterday which was awesome because one of the sisters investigators got the gift of the holy ghost in sacrament meeting! Anthony said he loved that afterwards! He told us he is going to fast and pray about being baptized this week or next week so we'll see what happens. 

The members here in this ward are amazing! They all have a strong desire to do missionary work which makes our job so much easier and way more fun as well. I'm excited to meet more of the members this week and help them with their missionary work. I have a feeling that this area is going to be my favorite! 

Super stoked to meet my 1/2 way mark this week but I hope that time slows down a little bit. I feel like I say that a lot but I don't want my mission to just fly by! I'm loving life out here! Anyway I love you guys! Hope you have an awesome week because I know I will. Love you! 

Love, Jack

Ps. I almost forgot to tell you that I am in a 4 man apartment which is a ton of fun but the elders that we live with are in the Cleveland 3rd area which is supposedly the most ghetto area in the mission but they have a bullet box haha! It's a box that they collect all the bullets and shells they find on the streets. And they aren't allowed in their area this week because of the RNC. Anyway Love you!

This is a picture of Jackson that a member texted me this morning. The joy of having a stateside missionary. :)

Jackson's sleeping arrangements!  That's just good missionary living.

Week #51

Hi Everyone! 

We had a crazy week this week! So it started off with exchanges but instead of having one set of missionaries in Ashland and the other set in Wooster, we both stayed in Wooster for the day and did a lot of great work there. Then on Wednesday, Elder Brewer had to go to a meeting up in Kirtland so we were gone for most of Wednesday too! Once we finally got back into our area, we felt super behind. It worked out though because Thursday we worked our tails off and were packed every minute of the day so we were able to get caught up here. Friday we did a lot of service for a member of the ward. We were helping her and her non member mom with getting a garage sale set up, so that was a ton of fun. Saturday was a pretty normal day. We did get a great referral from a member over in Cleveland. They are an older couple named Terry and Shelley who are super open to learning about the gospel. They had neighbors that were members of the church which planted the seed. I'll be excited to see where they go. I'm sure they'll be great investigators. Then Sunday came. I said goodbye to most of the members in the Ashland ward there which was sad. I'm really going to miss these people. The craziest part of Sunday though was when I got a phone call from President Brown asking me to serve as a Zone Leader in Kirtland!!!! I'm super stoked to get to serve there! Elder Bowcut served part of his mission there and said that it was super fun! I'm shaking in my shoes at the thought of taking leadership in this mission but I'm willing to accept the calling. I'll be leaving tomorrow to go to Kirtland and will be meeting my companion there. His name is Elder Davis, but that's all I know about him. So that's my week in a nut shell.

Now for our investigators.

Bob is doing super good! We had an awesome lesson with him last night with the Crawfords. They bore powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the Book of Mormon. At the conclusion of the lesson, we told Bob that his next step is to come to church and so he said to us "I promise you that I will be at church this Sunday!" I don't think I have ever had anyone promise me with that kind of determination in their voice. Sorta bummed that I'm not going to be here. I'll be zone leading in Kirtland by then. 

Parker is doing pretty good. He has been out of town for the last while which isn't great but he is really serious about getting baptized. His grandma is being very supportive and really pushing him to keep commandments which is super helpful. He is planning to get baptized in August at some point and he told me that he would email me pictures of his baptism. 

Those are our two most progressing investigators but next week I will be emailing you about all the new people that I get to meet in Kirtland! I took a lot of pictures this week too so I'll send those. I'm just having a blast out here in Ohio and am really glad that I got called to serve where and when I did. It is such a blessing to be in full service mode all the time for the Lord. I'm sure that I will never experience anything like this ever again. Time is definitely going by way too fast! I'm almost half way done. Anyway, I'll let you know how Kirtland is next week! Love you! Hope you guys have an awesome week!

Love, Jack

Ps. There's an elder in my district right now from Mesa, Arizona and he goes home on Thursday so I told him to go and visit you. I gave him your address. Don't expect him right away but he will probably come visit you guys soon. His name is James Hutzler. This is a picture of me and him.

Jackson and Elder Hutzler from Mesa, AZ!

Jackson and Terry

Jackson and Dave

Jack and Eldon

Jackson and the Cullers

Jackson in a cornfield

Sunset

Week #50

Hi Everyone!

This was a great week! Had a lot of fun doing missionary work. My ankle is definitely getting better which is good. I am trying to just take it easy on it for now but it really has gotten a lot better in the past couple of days! I was worried that I would have to go to the doctor and wear a cast or something but its looking like I won't have to do that... Unless I roll it again. 

I was really sad to hear about Karen but things sound like they're going okay for her. I hope that Kade will be able to stay focused on the work. I can't imagine how hard that would be. 

Our investigators are doing great! Parker is continuing to do great! I'm going to try and get pictures with everyone this week because I'm for sure leaving. Elder Brewer got called as a trainer last night so I'll be outta here. 

Bob is doing really great as well! He's still reading and praying. He's really seeking for the truth so it's really fun to teach him and see his understanding click. He had plans to come to church yesterday but I guess something came up with his wife and he had to travel out of town for her. 

Cool story really quick about a new investigator that we picked up. Her name is Nancy and we found her when Bowcut was still here. We met her on the street and she said that she would love for us to meet her at her house some time and teach her. But when it came time to contact her, we couldn't find the street that she lived on anywhere! But a couple of months later, Elder Brewer and I were driving I saw the street that she lived on! Wasn't looking for it or anything but remembered that it was the street she told us! We are now teaching her and she's doing really great! She's excited about us teaching her each week. 

Those are really our most progressing investigators. Elder Brewer and I have been having a lot of fun when finding, talking to everyone, and getting along really well. It'll for sure be sad to leave Ashland next week. 

I love you a lot, and hope that you have a great week! 

Love,

Jackson

                             Elder Scoresby and Elder Brewer at a hot air balloon festival.

 Elder Scoresby and Elder Brewer with Debbie and Michael Potts their neighbors.  She sent me these pictures and a text saying how much she would miss Jackson when he leaves Ashland this week and what a nice young man he is.  

Week #49

June 27, 2016

Hi Family!

Great week this week! We've been working really hard on finding new investigators and helping the investigators we have to progress and take their next step. It has been great to see them move forward with each faith filled step they take. 

To start out with who I feel it progressing most right now in our area, Bob. Bob is really understanding and loving the doctrine that we teach and he recognizes that there is something missing in other religions, specifically with the bible. He has been reading and doing quite a bit of research on the church. He still doesn't feel that he has had an answer of if the church is true or not but he is really doing great! I can't remember if I told you already or not but when we found Bob, he didn't seem too promising. We tracted his house and when he answered, we were immediately intimidated. He's probably 6'3" and isn't a skinny bean poll to say the least. On top of that, he is beyond passionate about religion. He basically told us that we knew nothing when we met him. In fact he was yelling at us when we tracted him. But because of tenacious efforts, we set a return appointment with him and he's now one of our best investigators! Seriously love that guy!

Nuvola has been reading the Book of Mormon and has been liking it. She really doesn't see a huge difference from her religion, Catholic, and ours. She has told us that she isn't really interested in joining the church but is always willing to listen to us and loves learning more. We're hoping and praying that she will gain a desire to act on what we are teaching her.

Parker has been out of town a lot in the last few weeks but is doing well. His Grandma, whose a member, came to church on Sunday! We are hoping that she gets reactivated and then Parker will stay active once he gets baptized! We will probably start teaching his little brother Leeland as well. He just barely turned 8. Really love that family. So many people here that I want to see get baptized but it doesn't look like any of them will make it before July 13th. That's the next transfer and I would bet about a zillion bucks that I'm going to a new area.

We didn't get to see Victor this week due to a conflict in his schedule but we have an appointment set up with him on Tuesday.

Those are our most progressing people right now and I love all of them!

I just have a quick experience that I want to share. 

As we were tracting this week out in the country, we were walking to the next house when a van pulled up next to us. The man inside was a little rough looking and he started talking to us about the history of Christianity. Anyway, it eventually got to the point where he was yelling at us, telling us that our religion was of the devil and that we were going to burn in Hell. I got pretty frustrated with me and stuck my head inside of the passenger side window that was down and was sure to tell him that he didn't know what he was talking about and then walked away. I felt the spirit leave me immediately as I did so and felt that I couldn't let my feelings of anger go towards this complete stranger who found it necessary to ruin my day. I was prompted to say a prayer and ask for help to love this man. As soon as I did so, I felt the love of the Lord come flooding back to me and had a great rest of the day! Such a blessing to have that experience!

Love you guys so much! Glad everyone is having a good summer! Good luck Coop with Cross Country! Its a blast!

Love,

Jack 

Week #48

June 20, 2016

Hi! 

I really have limited time this week to email so I will get right down to business.

We had some great experiences this week! One of which was a new investigator that we picked up! His name is Victor and he is 73 years old. He looks like he is maybe 50! He has heard a lot of things about Mormons but said that he was told by his parents to never develop an opinion based off of someone else's. He is also VERY spiritually in tune! As we were sitting there teaching him about the Restoration of the gospel, I felt the spirit so strongly and just pictured him in all white. Not in baptismal clothes but in temple clothes because that is where he is headed! I am really amazed at how prepared Victor is. We are meeting with him this Sunday to see if he had an answer to his prayers. I would be quite surprised if he hasn't gotten an answer. So stoked to see how quickly he will progress!

Nuvola, an Italian lady that we are teaching is doing pretty great! She doesn't really want to join the church right now but she is willing to read the Book of Mormon and we have a great relationship with her. We helped her paint her garage this last week and then she offered to feed us, so we had dinner with them last night! We got to meet her husband for the first time and he is great! She made the best tasting italian food I have ever tasted! 

Bob is doing great as well! He is still reading the Book of Mormon and we invited him this week to really pray about it! We will be following up with him tomorrow to see if he has done that. Our next step with him is working on getting him to come to church.

Terry is still really progressing in the gospel! He is going to pass the sacrament this coming week for the first time and is now working on family history for the temple! It has been great to see him come closer and closer to Chirst! 

That's mostly everything that has happened in the last week but we have been having a lot of fun doing missionary work! Love you all so much. Hope you have a great week. 

Love,

Jack

 

Elder Scoresby and Elder Brewer helping Nuvola paint her garage.

Week #47

Hi!

Had a pretty good week this week! We had a ton of time finding which was great! I always enjoy tracting and getting to meet new people. Unfortunately we didn't have as much success as I would've liked. We did find a couple of investigators but none of them are actually investigators yet.

We haven't been able to teach Marleen's friend yet. We went over to Marleen's house to talk to her about going to see her friend but she told us that they got in a fight and she needed some time before we tried to teach her. Satan always has a way of preventing us from teaching prepared people.

There hasn't been a whole lot of progress with any of our investigators this last week. Parker, however, did go on a scout camp out which he seemed to of enjoyed. He already has a large amount of fellowship which will help him stay active in the church once he gets baptized. 

I wish that I had more great news to report but I do have another cool experience! 

So Elder Brewer and I were out tracting in the middle of no where and it was like 2 million degrees and super humid. We had been knocking doors for probably 2 hours or so and had no success. As we knocked on the next door, I said, "Man if we were in Utah we could knock on any random door and a member would answer and offer us some water!" We both kinda laughed and dreamed about how refreshing some water would be. Then, as we were about to knock on the next house, Elder Brewer says to me, "wait a minute, isn't this the Bogner's house?" I looked up and realized that it was! We both stood there, laughed at ourselves, and then knocked on the door. Luckily brother Bogner was home and treated us to a delicious bottle of water! 

Each day I become more and more grateful for the opportunity I have to be serving in Ohio. I love it here and love the people that I get to meet every single day. I love you guys and hope you have a great week.

Love, 

Jack 

P.s. Mom that was a great story! Reminds me of earlier this week when we were tracting out in the country and I just about stepped on a turtle! I obviously picked it up because I am me, but I didn't want to carry it to the next door and have someone answer with me holding a turtle... not a great image. Elder Brewer threw out the idea, why don't you just put it in you bag. I definitely considered it but the idea of cleaning turtle poop out of my bag didn't sound too pleasing. I decided to let it go back to his home. He reminded me a lot of sparky! I have now caught a frog, a rabbit, and a turtle on my mission. The next step is either a squirrel or a raccoon! I'll let you know when I catch on of those.

Week #46

Hi!

Good week this week! I don't have any super amazing news to share but I do want to start out with an amazing miracle that happened yesterday. 

So Saturday night, I knelt down by my bed pondering on what I was going to fast for. I pondered for a few minutes and then felt a strong urge to fast for a member referral, which means a member of the church gives us someone they know to teach. So I went to bed that night and expecting my prayer to be answered some time in the coming week or so. Then at church on Sunday, after our early morning meetings, Marleen, a recent convert in the ward of just over a year came up to us and told us that her friend wanted to meet with us and be baptized!!!! Heavenly Father didn't even wait until after church to bless us with that one! We are going to contact her this week and hopefully start teaching her! She's only 14 or 15 so we'll have to get her parents permission before we teach her. That experience really strengthened my testimony of fasting!

Terry's doing great too! He got the priesthood yesterday and is preparing to go to the temple! The ward is really reaching out to him and making him feel welcomed at the ward. Terry comes to every single church function. Whether it's a stake priesthood meeting or ward kick ball, he's there! He'll get to pass the sacrament this coming week which will be so special to see! I'm really proud of him and all the work he has put forward to get to where he is now.

Parker doesn't have a baptismal date as of now. We set one with him and he accepted but then his Grandma called us and told us that he was going to be out of town for that date. He is still deciding if he wants to get baptized though. I would be very surprised if he chose not to. He's got a lot of great support in the ward and is coming to church most Sundays. He was out of town this week so he wasn't able to come. 

Elden is doing good! He came to church this week and is having a lot of success with overcoming his depression. He has been struggling with getting to church because of it but yesterday he came and had such a great experience! He was so happy and said he would be back next week! 

We're still working on getting all of our new investigators to stick but I'm sure that some of them will. Hopefully I'll have a lot to tell next week on our new investigators.

I want to share one last experience this week. 

So we walked over to visit Danny, one of our investigators, Saturday evening and had a great lesson with him. But when we left his apartment and looked out the front windows of the building, we saw that it was just a complete down pour... No umbrellas... No rain jackets.... Nothing. Elder Brewer and I just looked at each other and laughed! We had one more visit to make to a member of the ward and the walk was probably just under a mile. We saw that the rain was slowing down just a little bit so we started walking. There was no point in running because either way, by the time we got there we were going to be soaked completely through. So we walked about 3/4 of the way there and a member drove past but turned around and gave us a ride the rest of the way. I just think it's amazing how great it is to be a missionary. No matter where we go as missionaries, we always have friends that look out for us and keep us safe. So don't worry mom, I'm being watched out for! 

I love you guys a lot! I'm going to try and send a package today with some things in it for the family. I'm still working on getting Hannie a present! Hope you all have a good week!

Love,

Jack