Nerf Wars and New Year's
Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's eve! Sorry for not sending out a letter last week, I was trying to finish it up before today but this week has been crazy! I guess I'll start by talking about Christmas.
Spending Christmas away from family was very different, but it was still a lot of fun. We went over to a couple of different families throughout the day, and we even ended up watching the new Pixar Movie Soul (we had permission to watch one animated Disney movie). It reminded me a lot of Inside Out. Maybe I was just still stuck in missionary mode, but I saw a ton of analogies you could make between Soul and the gospel. I want to talk about one, but it's probably a spoiler so I'll put a little spoiler section for those who have seen it or don't mind spoilers.
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In the movie Soul, every soul has to find something that they enjoy doing, their "spark," before they can go down to earth. The main character's spark is jazz, and he spends his entire life pursuing his dream of becoming a jazz musician like his father. When he finally does achieve his dream, though, he doesn't know what to do. His only purpose in life was following that spark, but once he reached it he felt lost. Looking back, he realizes that the true purpose of life is to try and enjoy every moment. We all have things that we dream of doing, but we shouldn't become so focused on those goals that they consume us. Ultimately, "men are that they might have joy," and the best way to have joy in our lives, no matter our circumstances, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why it's so important that we share the Gospel with others!
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It felt like Christmas came and went really fast this year, but the good news is that it doesn't have to be Christmas for us to celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ. Most of you have probably heard the saying “wise men still seek him," and that phrase is always true. As it says in one of my Mom's favorite scriptures, Ether 12: 41, we all need to seek this Jesus! I know that taking the time each day to draw closer to Him can change your life, and, with New Years here, I think that would be a great New Year's resolution!
We did have a smallish set back last week when our roommates beautiful 2020 RAV4 (her name is Girl Boss btw) had its battery die randomly, but don't worry, Girl Boss is back in business baby!
New Years Eve was also a ton of fun. We had to be back by 7 because of safety concerns, but we still partied it up after 9. We had one of, if not the, funnest nerf battle of my entire life. It felt like real life counterstrike with all of the nerf ultra darts flying through the air at near supersonic speeds. The best moment had to be clutching up in a 2 vs 1 in the final round. It's still crazy to think that I will (knock on wood) be set apart as a missionary for all 365 days of this coming year, but things off to a pretty good start.
The biggest news for this week is that Elder Forsberg and I put our friend Ida on Date to be baptized on January 16th! I'm super excited, especially since that will be the Saturday before Elder Forsberg heads back to Chile. Every appointment we have with her is always an adventure. Between her 10+ dogs and cats and her tendency to ask lots of very valid questions, our lessons with her hardly ever go to plan, but that's okay.
Teaching Ida has taught me how important it is to follow the Spirit. I've had a lot of experiences teaching her where I have a thought pop into my head of what to say, and I've realized by now that those thoughts come from the Spirit. Ida has been through a lot of hard things and I can't wait to continue seeing the Gospel bless her in her life! Please keep her in your prayers!
Love you all,
Elder Jackson
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