... For Such a Time as This: Happy Saint Patty's to yuhs!

So this week we're gonna take the gratitude approach on the email cause i'm just super grateful about lots of things. Alrighty, 1,2,3,go!

1. The man in the Coka Cola shirt. We had been contacting and tracting a ton on Tuesday and were just exhausted. We had ridden our bikes pretty far.. I hate to say it, but it was a "going through the motions" point of time. We hit a park and it was slow so we sat down and organized ourselves, made calls etc. On the way out we passed a mother doing homework with her daughter, I quickly turned around and we started talking to her. Turns out she speaks spanish and was super interested in the Book of Mormon and learning more about how this message can bless her fam. We will be seeing her in a few days. Then on our way home we saw a guy in a Coka Cola shirt sitting with his bike on the corner. We stopped to talk to him and long story short, he just moved here 2 weeks ago, is going through a mid life crisis, no one has talked to him here, he's depressed, etc. He asked the most incredible questions though while we chatted!! He asked how we gained testimonies, what the difference between our church and other churches is (BINGO, authority) he told us he was confused about the bible having been translated so many times (BINGO, Book of Mormon), he told us for the past 4 nights he had been praying to God to know why "he's doing this to him" (BINGO, Joseph Smith). I mean, I really wish I could even describe how inspired it all was!!!! We had him read the last two paragraphs of the introduction and the look on his face just totally changed! He told us he would read as much as he could tonight. He told us he knew we were an answer to his prayers. Hermanitas, Gruber, Marsh y yo walked away from that with tears filling up our eyes.

2. Technology. We had ipad training this week with the "traveling sisters" and my eyes were so opened to the many possibilities! I've had a lil bit of a hard transition with the ipadsies and FB and such.. I just aint a techy haha. Where's Scotty when yuh need him? haha joke. But I've truly realized how much this expands the horizon and hastens the work!! During our meeting with her too she bore her testimony and it just hit me and I knew it was what I needed to hear.

3. Sister Berry (in particular.. President Berry as well, of course!). This week at trainer/trainee follow up she was just so full of love and care. I'm so grateful for her fun, loving personality and all that she does to keep us functioning as a mission and as individuals. She cracks me up too. Again, Mama and her would be friends.

4. That we are a biking mission. HAHAHA! my heavens, it allows for so many hilarious stories. In the past week we've had two funny casualties.. One of sister Marsh thinking she could mount a curb... Came to a complete hault and tumbling down (don't worry, i got permission to share). And the second of us coming to the corner to stop and sister Marsh kinda tripped on the bike a bit and then I did as well hahaha wow, bless our hearts. I can assure you we are being careful though! Also, I love being able to exercise a bit during the day and contact people on the way. So many pros. Minus the fact that the humidity is creepin in on us..

5. My trio. The pros just keep pilin up! Ilove learning from them and working with them! They're the best companions and we're enjoying time together. It'll be weird going back to 2.

6. Yesterday. Miracles are flyin here and yesterday was full of them. Aurora (less active that we found) and her husband (non member) both came to church!!! As well as Maribel (member from Honduras here for her daughter) and brought her friend Oscar who isn't a member but his whole family is and he lives here now! He LOVED church and wants to see us this week! Then later we got a call from mayra- the Mayra we met last week- after we had heart-attacked her door (she's super sick) and she was almost in tears and told us she was grateful and then that she "read the whole book"...!!!!!!!! She read the whole BOM in the last week and really loved it! she has some questions written down to ask us when we go over and she says she's super excited to keep learning more. Wow, WHAT'S LIFE?! It was the coolest thing. Oh, minor funny thought: We called a potential yesterday and he asked me to marry him hahaha. If nothing else, it provided a good laugh.

7. Growth. The saying that Matty gave me before I left "there's no comfort in growth and no growth in comfort" keeps ringing truer and truer. I'm being stretched and pushed to do things that scare me or stress me out or frustrate me. But I know that as I go through with a smile on, recognize the hand of the Lord and try and understand what he wants me to learn, I'm becoming better. Wow, I love the mish so much and I'm so grateful to be here!

I love yall so much and I'm grateful for you! Have a good'n!

Love, Hermana Jackson