Elder McKay Bryan Jackson

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

July 20, 2009

Hola familia, How are all ya´ll doing, hopefully all is super super good alla. Everything is going just great here in Iquique. The family that we are teaching is very active with all of the activities and with everything. For example, our Stake just had the olympics with Soccer, Ping Pong and Chess. It was for the young men and young women but everyone was invited, of course we couldn`t go because we had a lot of work to do, but the family went and had a great time it sounds like. Yesterday I taught them how to make pancakes from scratch, and they loved it(that pancake recipe is really coming in handy Dad, I appreciate it). They have been waiting for me to cook them something, so we had a good time, and talked about everything. Janett asked me if my mother is mad at me because I am forgetting my english, and I said I hope not. Jorge had to go to Peru for his business and had a great time, he took his bible that he just baught and his Book of Mormon to read on the trip. Well he gave his Book of Mormon to a lady that was sad, and he said this book has given me peace. So the family is progressing a lot and we have a great relationship with them but they don`t want pressure, so we can`t give them a baptismal date, but it is all about patience right? The less active members are coming to church, we had about 20 more in the sacrament meeting than normal, so the work is really good right now. Elder Cruz is teaching me a lot and we are having a great time, he is a great son and listens, so now I understand how happy you and Dad are when we listen to you. That story was funny about Jonah, I will have to use that one. I am loving the bible right now, I never understood how much information you could take out of the old and new testament. There is no way I could understand it without the spirit though, some of that stuff is DEEP!!!!!!! Oh and I am going to buy the luggage today, they are really nice, 16 thousand pesos(about$30.00) and yeah we do use CHILENO PESOS, when I take the money out of my card, it turns into Chileno Peso. Everyone loves to see the American money here though. They love American anything, especially missionaries with blonde hair, je je. Tell Jordan and Heidi to keep the pesos, it is from a different country, so it is cool to have. I will bring some money home when I am done. I am keeping healthy, I just got done with a cold, everyone in Chile has the cold so it wasn`t anything new. The weather just so ya`ll now is freezing now, I am so glad I bought a jacket before the mission. It gets really cold at night and the waves from the ocean now are huge, it is sweet. I listen to them all night while I sleep. Tell dad ´take luck with the buisness, take it , care for it, je je.´ I am praying for you all everynight, so I hope everything goes great. I don`t know what else to write, I am trying to think about things that are going on. This last week was the week of the Virgen of the Tirana, and so there are people from all over Chile in my sector that are all dressed up in costumes and do a dance, it is really cool, but extremely Babilonish, too bad they don`t have the truth, yet....Oh yeah, this week my ward is going to have an actividad where every family is going to present their country, food, and the culture or whatever we want to say. My ward has people from all over, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Japan, Paraguay, Uraguay and the best of all THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!! HECK YES!!! So I am going to make a bunch of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwhiches, because I couldn`t think of a type of food that we have, we kinda steal the food from other countries. So hopefully it goes well. Anywho, this email has been a book, but whatever other questions you all have about where I am at the the culture go ahead and ask. I love Chile so there is a lot to talk about. I love you all and will talk to ya next week. Check ya later, and con mucho questo. Elder McKAY Bryan Jackson

Friday, June 19, 2009

New Area! IQUIQUE

can`t believe how crazy everything is changing. Is our ward still the same? President Watson will be AMAZING, I have always looked up to him. He is the one that got me into the mission with his mission classes and now he will be the one that releases me too. I am sure that it was a sweet conference, Elder Holland has always been a favorite of mine, even more since the mission. He cleaned out Chile completely a couple years ago, so now Chile is a growing area because of him. We are also going to be having a big conference this week. We are going to be listening to Elder Dixon of the first quourmn of the 70, the funny thing is we are going back to Arica to listen to him, so looks like I will be able to see my home town once more and Elder Verwer. So are we still in the same ward as Travis Price? I sure hope so. So if there are 3 stakes, who is the other Stake President, we have President Watson, President Shumers and who else? Soon we are going to be having a temple right in Farr West with this growth. Oh and don`t worry that your letter was long, I always do like them longer from ya, after all you are my mother, the most important letter that I could read. I am doing great here. I will be having another baptism this week with hermano Michel, so I will tell you how it went.I love you all and know that this is the church of Jesus Christ and am honored to be a representative of him and the Jackson Family. Have a great week and we will talk to ya all later. Cho Cho Elder Jackson P.s. If I do need anything, it would just be the bathroom supplies, like shavers, shaving cream, soap, face wash, just that kinda stuff. It costs a lot. But only if you can.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I love this place... New Companion Elder Verwer from Utah and my 2nd baptism Brother Alejandro..

Hola Familia, ¿como estan? Esta semana pasada era spectacular. A lot has happened. Alejandro Fabio Ordenes Ordoñez is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, yep, he was baptized finally, and how amazing it was. He invited all of his family and extended family and so there was about 15 non members at this amazing powerfully, spiritually baptism. After the baptism we took all of their names and they want us to pass by and teach them also, they all felt something that they have never felt before. It is amazing how things work out. Also the direct family aren`t members(yet) and they love us, so I guess we will see what happens there. I also bought a Bible for them because they don`t have one and I wrote my testimony in it and address. He just kept saying thank you thank you, I have been missing this part of my life for a long time, and now I feel so much love and happiness that I have never felt. Then yesterday he was confirmed a member. Yeah he is amazing. Oscar went to the baptism, he gives me a smile everytime I see him. He is growing so much, the other day he was so excited because he found all of the Hymns on the internet and downloaded them all. Then bishop just told me that he will be given the Melckezidek Priesthood on the 15th, Stake Conference. How amazing is that, then he will be able to go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity with his family. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE MISSION!!!!!!!!!! Anywho, I need to settle down, so..........Oh yeah, my companion is from Heriman, Utah. Heriman is close to Riverton. So that will be sweet that I am close to him after the mission. He is the man, I have never been this tired in the mission, but I have never had so much success and excitement for the mission either. We are having a ton of fun, and at the same time I am tired spiritually every night because all the amazing experiences that happen every day. The days pass by as if they were 3 hours long. Tell Alex and Mackenzie congatulations on being baptized, I will try to send them a card if I can save up some money. Yesterday being fast and testimony meeting, Alejandro asked me if he could share his testimony and thank everyone and it suprised me, they are usually to shy, so I went up with him and he shared his testimony and it was amazing and he was crying like a baby thanking everyone and the two angels that taught him. Then I went up and shared my testimony and talked about baptism and how a man name William Watkins was baptized about 175 years ago in England and because of him, I am here in Chile sharing the gospel. After everyone was thanking me for my testimony and saying you spoke with so much confidence and spoke fluent. I am definately being blessed with my spanish. I haven`t spoken english with Elder Verwer at all, so I am learning a lot and recieving the gift of tongues more and more. I can`t believe Larry H. Miller died, I heard last week and was shoked, also when I heard about Wirthlin when he died, extremely shoked. They were both amazing Men, it will be cool to see who is the next apostle in conference NEXT MONTH!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! Tell Carston congratulations for me, I will try to send a letter to him before he leaves, he will be a great missionary in Kentucky. Yeah the weather is still the exact same as when I got here 6 months ago(today). Arica is called La Eterna Primavera. It is awesome, I love the weather. It is really humid but hey it is all good. Anywho, so that is what is going on. I don`t have much time and I have written a novell, but I want to send some pictures so I will end now. I love you all so much, have a great week and tell everyone hi for me, especially Travis and Katie Price. Have fun. check ya later. Elder McKay Bryan Jackson The First p.s. Elders just told me that a investigator of their sector wants ME to baptize him on the 14th. I taught him here twice but he lives in another sector so we gave him to the other missionaries. I didn`t think I had that great of an impact, I was wrong. I`m definately not going to complain.