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