Onwards and Upwards (literally)

March 15, 2021

 Quoi de neuf?! 

This week is the week of transfers, and it turns out that truth really is stranger than fiction. I am sad to say that I will be leaving Visalia tomorrow. I have met some amazing people here who I can easily say I will never forget and I've had a lot of amazing experiences that I'll always look back on fondly. I've learned a lot since I arrived in Visalia, I mean, before I came here I could hardly even ride a bike, and now I can do it with no hands! 

It is always hard to say goodbye, but this Sunday was honestly the perfect note to end on. I've mentioned my friend Ida frequently in my letters, and this week was her first week attending church in person. She got a ride with our ward mission leader, Brother Hamm, and she sat with him and his family on the last bench in the chapel. There wasn't enough room for me and Elder Jones to sit with them so we ended up sitting behind them on the first row of the overflow. At first, I was disappointed, but when I saw Brother and Sister Hamm and their grandkids interacting with Ida I realized that she was in good hands. 

After church we had an awesome conversation with Ida, Brother and Sister Hamm, and Joe - a recent convert who is also one of my favorite people on earth. Talking with all of them together reminded me just how much I love each of them, and how grateful I am for this church and this Gospel and the way that it blesses people's lives. This church is true! And sharing this truth with others is the most important thing we can do! Please look for ways that you can share it with others or come to know of that truth for yourself! 

I'm so grateful that God allowed me to cross paths with so many amazing people during my time here. It is always hard to say goodbye, but I know that God has a plan for each of us and it's time for me to serve somewhere else. I'm going to miss Elder Jones, but I know that he'll take good care of Visalia and our friends while I'm gone! 

And that somewhere else I'll be serving is… (drumroll please) Oakhurst! Which is a little town up in the mountains that's very close to Yosemite national park. I am incredibly excited to say that my new companion will be the one, the only, Elder Allred!! Some of you may be thinking "huh that name sounds kind of familiar," and that's because Elder Allred and I were actually in the same district together during the online MTC! We've been doing video calls together with another Sister in our mission who speaks French pretty much every week, and we've joked about being companions so many times I still can't believe it's actually happening - I am beyond excited! And, as if that wasn't exciting enough, Elder Allred and I are going to be training a new missionary together! From what I understand the new missionary is also a reassigned French speaker so we're going to have lots of opportunities to practice our French together! I guess President Gillespie just decided to put the Three Musketeers together up in the mountains haha

Well, I have to get packing but I hope you know that I love you all! 

Elder Jackson