the work is moving forward, August 31

Well this past week felt so long, but it was so great!! Some really great things are happening in Lawton!!! The work is moving forward! So we had a huge miracle on tuesday! We had just finished dinner and the Elders were being really nice and dropping us off at our next appointment. We were riding along and Elder Van Halder says, "Thats our guy!" and pulls over! We passed Dillon, a former investigator, biking on the road! The only reason we dropped him, is because he moved and he never gave us his address. He gave us the general area but we could never find the house! His mom has a pink car so he told us to look for the house with the pink car. Well we tried once on our bikes but had no luck then the Elders drove us in their car one day to help us look for him but we couldn't find it. But Dillon is found Now!!!!! It was a happy reunion! He asked where we have been! Little did he know that we have been searching for him for weeks! Well we started teaching him again! And he came to institute and church! And is reading the Book of the Mormon! Miracles!

Another miracle happened that same night after we found Dillon! The appointment we were going to was with a less active who hasn't been to church in years. Well we had a lesson with her and it went so well! She committed to come to church and to pick Dillon up since they live really close to each other. Well she came to church on sunday! and she brought her son, grandson, and friend! All who are not members! Her son even picked Dillon up for church! 

Remember Rhiannon from last week! Well things are progressing so well with her!! We had such a spiritual lesson with her on the Doctrine of Christ. We read 2 Nephi 31 together and discussed faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. When we were talking about baptism she brought up that it is a commandment! And that the things we have to do are so simple and that everyone can do them! She is so right! We can all do those 5 things! We told her we want to set a date for her to get baptized so she has something to work towards. She then replied with "well not October." So then we were thinking "oh no, its going to be November." But she surprised us all and said, "how about the last weekend in September!" And of course we said that would work! She ended up having something then so she set her date for September 18th :) MIRACLES! And this morning she texted us and told us she had finished 1 Nephi! She is reading the Book of Mormon! More miracles!!!

I had a couple spiritual experiences this past week that I wanted to share! One happened on friday night when we went to see Dalton. The McCollisters came with us and the appointment ended up ending early cause he had to leave. Well before they dropped us off at their house they said "can we say a prayer for him?" That was the first time I had had a member pray for an investigator! Normally we ask them during a dinner message to pray for certain investigators (Alma 6:6).  But they said a prayer and it was just a  really neat experience. There is power is prayer! It has been really neat for me to see members become invested in investigators. On sunday when I saw Sister McCollister she mentioned that they continue to pray for Dalton.

Another experience happened Saturday when I was biking. I do a lot of thinking while I am biking and something finally clicked for me. I have been praying since I got here to have a love for the people here. And I can finally say that I LOVE these people! While I was biking I was thinking of a funny story that happened earlier and also the appointment we just had with Dillon and the thought came I love these people! I could feel it. My heart has changed and grown to love all the Oklahomans! And lastly, I finished the Book of Mormon on sunday! What a spiritual experience I have had every day because of reading the Book of Mormon! I am so grateful for the challenge my Mission President gave us missionaries to read the Book of Mormon by September 1st. My testimony and faith have increased so much! I love the Book of Mormon! And I know that it is the word of God. As I was reading the last chapter in Moroni, I liked that Moroni mentioned a couple times "come unto Christ." I thought it was so cool that one of the last things Moroni mentioned was the purpose of missionaries: invite others to come unto Christ. 

I love you all! Thanks for all the support and prayers! Have a blessed week!

All my love,

Sister Jackson

This is Sister Jensen and I with Megan Knudsen! Her family just moved here from Kansas and are fixing up the house they are living in. It use to have this pink porch but they took it down. It is a huge project they took on! She comes out teaching with us and is leaving this week to go back to school at BYUI

This was the BEST week EVER, August 24

This was the best week ever! It was such a good week! Miracles were happening every day, all day! So many spiritual experiences happened. It all started with a zone meeting all on the Sabbath Day. I learned so much during this meeting. They shared a talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson called, "The Sabbath Is a Delight." I would highly recommend reading it. The questions that got me thinking was how can I make the Sabbath a delight and how can I make the Sabbath different? Those two questions really got me thinking. Sometimes I wake up on sunday and it doesn't even feel like sunday. I do the same thing and wear church clothes every single day so how can I make sunday different? Because it needs to be. The part I liked from the talk was, "If you choose to delight yourself in the Lord, you will not permit yourself to treat it as any other day." Christ created the earth under the direction of Heavenly Father in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested and that is what we are commanded to do: to keep the Sabbath Day Holy. We are to do all we can monday through saturday and on sunday we are to rest from our labors and reserve one day for Christ. "In paying tithing, we return one-tenth of our increase to the Lord. In keeping the Sabbath holy, we reserve one day in seven as His. So it is our privilege to consecrate both money and time to Him who lends us life each day." The missionaries doing the training challenged all of us to do one thing to make the Sabbath more a delight. I would like to challenge all yall the same thing. What can we do to make the Sabbath more a delight?

The next day just continued with great things! I was on exchanges with Sister Chandler for the whole day and we just saw so many miracles! She is such a great missionary! I learned so much from her. She is great at talking with everyone we see. We stopped all the times on our bikes to talk to everyone. There are so many stories I want to share from today but I will just share two! The first one: We were in an area trying to meet with an investigator who is moving but he wasn't home so we knocked some houses on his street, in doing this we met Tristan. He is 17 and had time right then for us to share a message. He told us that religion has changed his life. He is very religious and thinks about things a lot. We taught him the restoration and the spirit touched him! I love hearing people pray. It tells a lot about how they are really feeling. He was so open in his prayer and asked to know more about his gospel! What a miracle! Second: Sister Chandler and I were trying some potentials in an area and this group of kids walk up to us and start talking to us. The oldest two are high school age and the younger two are probably Elementary School aged. Well they didn't know anything about our church and we told them an overview and they were really interested. We left them with a Book of Mormon and scheduled time to come back! The younger kids loved the pass along picture cards.

Wednesday was just as good! It just kept getting better! Sister Jensen the day before on exchanges with Sister McKenzie met one of her former investigators at the Food Bank where they were volunteering. And the former, Rhiannon, was telling Sister Jensen that she wanted us to come stop by! This was great news! Especially cause Sister Jensen has kept trying to get in with them the past two months but hasn't had any luck. She told her to come in the mornings. Well this morning we went and had an awesome lesson with her! The spirit was confirming truths to her and everything was just making sense! She kept saying how she couldn't wait for her husband to get home so she could tell him what she learned! She even asked her daughter if she wanted to come to church on sunday! She invited herself to come to church and guess what, it gets even better?! Rhiannon, Ross, and their daughter all came to church yesterday!!! :)

Thursday we had something really funny and kind of strange happen. On tuesday Sister Chandler and I met this man named Billy. Well we set an appointment with him for today and we tried him and there was no answer at the door. Well about an hour later, Sister Jensen suggested going to try him again so we rode over to try him again. Well we bike up to his house and his front door is open with his screen door shut. We can see into his house and we see him inside but he leaves the room. So we go knock on the door and he doesn't answer, but we know he is inside so we just wait a little bit. But guess what we saw on the table open?! That's right, the Book of Mormon! He didn't ever come to the door which is weird but it looked like he had been reading! Then a car pulls up to his house and we feel a little weird waiting on the porch so then we just leave haha it was kinda funny experience.

The experience on friday evening I think was my favorite for the week! Well today was the night that the Beckette family (Nephi, Liam, and Olivia) had us over for dinner! Nephi and Liam are the young boys that gave us water. That happened during my first couple weeks here. Well we had dinner with them and then afterwards had a lesson with them. This was a powerful lesson. Sister Malcom (she is in the picture with me and her baby) and her son Levi, who is 8, joined us for the lesson about halfway through. Levi and Liam have been in the same school class for awhile so they are good friends. Sister Malcom and Levi were a great help to teaching the lesson. We got to the first vision part and Sister Jensen told the kids that they needed to be very reverent during this part and pay attention to how they feel. We recited the first vision and then waited a little while before asking them how they felt. The boys couldn't describe it! They were smiling and happy and Liam said, "it was the spirit." He was so right. The spirit was so strong as we were teaching them. Nephi and Liam by the end were so excited and said, "I want to get baptized!" We gave Nephi a Book of Mormon to keep and he held onto it the whole night, never set it down. He ran up and gave Sister Jensen and I a big hug and said thank you! 

Saturday: By this day we are up to 100 miracles probably. So many good things happened this week. Earlier this week we met someone who we weren't too sure if she was interested but we saw her today and she seemed way more interested this time! After seeing her we knocked some houses and just so happened to knock on a members door! What?! We knocked on her door and she let us in right away. About 20 minutes into the conversation with her she mentions she is a member! How crazy is that. She hasn't been to church she said in a really long time. She isn't even on our ward list. So that was super cool and another miracle for the week! Lastly on our way back to our house before dinner we stop and see this guy we met on tuesday from Nepal. He wasn't home but we met his friends and they said they were all planning on coming to church. They asked if we wanted water and we said sure. The picture of me holding the Gatorade bottle full of water is what they gave us! haha they gave us sooo much water. Oh and that evening we tried Billy again and another funny thing happened again. So we were with a member in her car and we get to his house and his truck is gone so we figured he was at work still. Well Sister Jensen decides to leave him a note inviting him to come to church when his truck drives past but doesn't pull into his driveway. We are thinking that is weird. About a couple minutes later his truck comes back and pulls in to his driveway. We are sitting there in the car not sure what to do. We figured this probably looks super weird cause we are just sitting outside his house when he comes home from work haha super awkward. We just decide to drive away and come back later that evening haha. Well when we come back that evening we knock on his house and no answer and that same car from the couple nights before that pulled up, pulls up again. How strange? haha well we just leave again. Who knows what is going on with Billy!

The last picture is of Sister Jensen and I in front of the Lawton bench! I just love being a missionary! It is seriously the greatest! I truly am an instrument in the Lord's hand. He is guiding us everyday to the people we are suppose to be meeting! I love all yall! and thank you for the support and prayers. Have a blessed week!

All my love,

Sister Jackson

All my love, Sister J

This past week went by so fast! It was a really great week! I don't have too much time left but know that I love you all! I got to go the temple this past week! I love the temple SO much and have missed going frequently. It was a great experience going with my zone. We get to go to the temple every 6 months. Another great thing that happened this past week is we got a media referral for someone in our area wanting a bible. Her name is Jennifer and we stopped by her house on saturday and it was amazing! She is so prepared for the gospel. She didn't even remember requesting a bible haha. We thought that was pretty funny. She let us inside and we ended up teaching her the Restoration and leaving her with a Book of Mormon! The spirit was so strong and she had such love for God! I could tell that she knew she was daughter of God and that he was very aware of her and her family. 

I am so glad that I get to be a missionary! I love being a missionary and sharing the gospel! I truly can see the Lord working through missionaries. We are his hands reaching out to one. I wish I could share more! There are so many great experiences that happen every week! I hope all yall have a great week! God Bless!

All my love,

Sister Jackson

2 months, Love Sister Jackson

Well this past week has been full of miracles! So many good things happening!

So remember Nephi from a couple weeks ago? He gave us water one day. Well he told us the street he lives on when we first met him but not his house number. He says his family has a black truck. Well anyways we tried to find his house about a couple weeks ago and we drove down Hickory lane and there was so many black trucks! haha almost every house had one. So sadly we didn't find Nephi. But this past week we tried his Aunt's house and she was home! We were able to talk with her for awhile and she gave us their address! And told us to go meet them! Well Saturday night we went to go see Nephi and his family and they were home! His mom, Elizabeth, let us come in! She has 3 kids: Nephi, Liam, and Olivia. These kids love to talk! They were so excited we were here! We were talking with Olivia, she is 6, and showed her the Book of Mormon and opened up to the first book, which is the First Book of Nephi. She was surprised and excited and then asked, "Is there a page for Liam too?!" It was so cute! and we all just laughed! :) We asked Elizabeth if she would be interested in us coming by again and she said yes and invited us over for dinner in a couple weeks!

This past week we had some great success with working with some less actives! We have been meeting with Sister Nelson for a couple weeks now. This past week we had a member come with us to visit her with us. And the visit went so good! We watched the Restoration video with her and afterwards talked about Priesthood blessings. She just recently had her knee replaced and hasn't been feeling well. When we would ask her about coming to church she would say she wasn't feeling well enough to come. Well when we were over we asked if she wanted a blessing and she said yes! So we had someone from the ward come over and give her one. On Saturday when we called her she said that she was going to come to church and asked if she could have a ride! She said she was feeling good! Miracle!! She came to church!!

My testimony of member missionary work is growing every week! The next day we had another member come out with us and we visited with Sister Miller. She is a less active that Sister Jensen and I met for the first time the previous week. She was on her way out when we stopped by and told us to come back. Well we tried her with a member with us and she was home! Sister Miller and the member connected right away! They pretty much talked the whole time and Sister Jensen and I just sat and listened to them! This was huge! Sister Miller had a work accident and has some type of disability now. The member that came out with us, works with people with disabilities and was able to help her get the things she needs! On the car ride back the member said, "The Lord sent me to see her! What if I hadn't come out with you guys. I never would have met her!" It was such a cool experience and miracle! 

The pictures of the ponies are from Sister Miller's house. She has ponies and let us feed them. 

I don't have much time left. I love you all! Thanks for the support and prayers! I gave a talk this past week on ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. I shared this from President Monson, 

"As we extend to others the hand that helps and the heart that knows compassion, we will bring joy into their hearts, and we will experience the rich satisfaction that comes to us when we help another along the pathway to eternal life.” 

Remember to reach out to the one!  Matthew 18:12

All my love,

Sister Jackson

August 3rd, "Reach Out and Rescue Others"

I know I say this every week, but time really is just flying by! I can't believe it is August already! It is so crazy. There is always so much I want to share but I never know how to share it all! 

First off, I am staying in Lawton! At least for another 6 weeks. This Wednesday is the end of the transfer and I can't believe I have been here for a whole transfer! It is crazy. Well this past week on Friday we were trying a less active family who didn't end up being home. Well every time we are by this family I get this thought that we should go try Nicole. She is someone I met during my first couple weeks when we went tracting. She wasn't interested but told us how appreciative she was of what we were doing. She said if we ever needed something and were in her area to let her know and stop by! She was so sweet! The past 2 times we were in her area we didn't stop but we should of! But this past Friday we did stop! And guess what? She said she had been looking for our bikes, but hasn't seen us around and had been wondering where we have been. What?! I was so excited!!! Well we talked with her and her husband briefly and we brought up Meet the Mormons. She hadn't heard of it but seemed interested and told us once school starts up in a couple weeks to come back and we can watch it with her!! Always listen to the promptings you receive! It took me a couple times before I listened and went and tried Nicole again!

Another miracle happened from trying another less active family. It is a family that I have never met and Sister Jensen has only met once so we decided to go try and meet them. Well they weren't home so we decided to knock on some doors before we left that street. We came in contact with some great people that are so prepared to hear the gospel! The first one, Eric, said he wasn't into religion at all but after talking with him for a bit he said we could come back again and meet with him! Next we started talking with two women, Diane and Carmen, a couple houses down that were sitting on their porch who are neighbors and have been friends for awhile. We started talking with them and found out that they both have already been given a Book of Mormon and were interested to know more! We taught them a short version of the Restoration and scheduled appointments to come back and teach them the Plan of Salvation! So then we headed back to our bikes and the person whose yard we had locked up at (we lock our bikes on a pole that is sometimes on a persons yard) was outside. There has only been one person who has gotten mad at us for parking our bikes by their house and this person said "I charge for parking" when we walked up. We couldn't tell if he was angry but it turns out he wasn't! His name is Bobby and he is actually really cool! He started this organization called "Angels of the Highway" and they are mostly an organization that helps families around Christmas time. Well anyways he is really big into Christmas so we invited him to watch "He is the Gift." He said we are welcome to lock our bikes up at his house anytime but just to make sure we lock them cause he said bikes have been stolen in this area before. He was so nice! He drives trucks so that is how he came up with his name for the organization!

The picture is of me and Sherry! She is an investigator that we have been working with since I got here. Sister Jensen and Sister Stewart (who was here before me) met her in May I believe. Well she is progressing really well but is moving so we had our last lesson with her this past week. She was the lady that we sang primary songs with her grand kids! When we saw her this week one of her grand kids, Rashad told us that he could sing the popcorn song all by himself! He is so cute! He is 4 but acts like he is a teenager!

We had dinner with the Luthers, the missionary couple, again this past week. We got to finish Ephraim's Rescue, which was so good! There was this quote at the end that I really liked.

Elder Luther shared this quote with us at the end before we left,

 “We gave our today's in order that you could enjoy your tomorrows.”

 He said that he thought this related to what we were doing as missionaries. So very true!

Thanks for all the support and prayers! I love all you so much! It has been such an amazing experience seeing the gospel change and bless the people that I meet! 

All my love,

Sister Jackson

The top of Mt Scot, which is the tallest mountain in Oklahoma! We drove all the way to the top last p day and then took some pictures. It was the first time since getting off the airplane that my ears popped and had to adjust haha