One For All and All For One

April 29, 2021

Salut mes amis!

It’s been another wonderful few weeks serving here in the Lord’s Vineyard! 

As part of our local Facebook finding efforts, we recently posted in a local group offering service for anyone who needs help getting ready for fire season. With the mostly older demographic and the damage caused by some intense winds storms, we have received quite a few responses to our post - definitely more than we had anticipated! We have had service scheduled almost every day for the past two weeks, and I couldn’t be happier!  

One of our recent service activities was helping an older gentleman gather tree branches that had fallen during a wind storm into a “burn pile” - basically a big pile of branches that you light on fire. It’s the easiest way to get rid of all the debris, but it’s also kind of ironic since this is the part of California that is pretty much perpetually on fire and yet everyone is just building bonfires in their backyards haha The man we were serving told us lots of stories about his time he spent as a marine and his love for hotrods and boats. As we were wrapping up, he offered to take us out to lunch, and we accepted his generous offer. We went to a pizza place that we had been talking about earlier, and, as we waited for our food, he told us that one of his sons had recently passed away in a car accident. It was a very emotional moment, and, as we were leaving we were able to give him a Book of Mormon and bear testimony of the peace that it has brought us. He accepted the Book of Mormon happily, and we’re planning on heading over to his house again in a week or so to finish up clearing the branches and, hopefully, teach him more about the Book of Mormon! 

The other most memorable service opportunity we’ve had has been helping some homesteaders clear a massive patch of black berries bushes on their property. Apparently it’s been growing out of control for almost 20 years, and I definitely believe it. I felt a little bit like I was in Sleeping Beauty as we hacked away at the thicket of thorns; the only difference is that there was no dragon and that, instead of a sword, I was wielding a hoe -  which was still surprisingly effective! The other highlight of the project is that the woman who reached out to us has a very cute son who is absolutely obsessed with Star Wars and Final Fantasy. He carries a wooden replica of Cloud’s buster sword all the time, and we even got to see a picture of his very impressive homemade Cloud costume - complete with spiky gelled hair and everything!

We’ve been meeting with a lot of members recently, and I have to say again that I’m so grateful for all of the wonderful members of this church! Nothing has strengthened my testimony of the Gospel more than seeing the way that it blesses the lives of all those who live by it’s precepts! 

I’ll share one cool story we had this week from meeting with members. There is a really awesome young family in our ward named the Costas that we met with last Monday. We had originally planned on teaching about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but as we started talking with them the topic quickly shifted to be more focused on missionary work. We had a really great discussion, and both Brother and Sister Costa talked about unexpected missionary experiences they’d had since we last visited with them. We emphasized the importance of sharing your light with others and having the courage to extend invitations. One of my favorite Conference talks of all time is "Your Great Adventure" by Elder Uchtdorf (and not just because it mentions Lord of the Rings). In it he explains that “the difference between casual social contacts and compassionate, courageous discipleship is—invitation!” We shared that quote with them and the very next day Sister Costa was texting a friend of hers that isn’t a member of our church who has been struggling recently, and she remembered what we shared and felt prompted to ask her friend if she wanted a priesthood blessing. To her surprise, her friend said yes! Sister Costa contacted the missionaries in Fresno and they were able to give her a blessing that night, and apparently Sister Costa’s friend said that the blessing was a total answer to her prayers! Members are absolutely essential to missionary work, so please look for ways that you can share your light with others and, when you feel prompted by the Spirit, invite them in normal and natural ways to learn about the church so they can come closer to their Savior Jesus Christ and his restored gospel!

I almost forgot to mention the amazing opportunity that we had to meet with Elder Gong, Elder Pearson (our area president), and their wives for a mission wide devotional! For the sake of time, I won't go into all the details, but the most important thing I took away from that experience was the assurance that our leaders truly are called of God. It was so heart warming and humbling to see the way that Elder Gong interacted with all of the people he spoke to, and I know that he truly is a man of God. "By their fruits ye shall know them," and, looking at the prophets and apostle of this church, it's so incredibly clear that this Gospel produces good fruit. 

I’m not sure if I mentioned in a previous email or not, but we met a member family that makes Star Wars clone/stormtrooper armor kits and last week I finally got to see their shop where they make all of the different parts! It was soooo cool! Getting to put on an ARC trooper helmet was honestly a dream come true.

I'm afraid that there is one sad piece of news from this past week; the three musketeers are no more. Elder Allred was transferred this past Tuesday to Fresno. He will be dearly missed, but the work will go on. He’s an amazing missionary, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do great things in the Van Ness ward! 

It was definitely fun getting to go to transfer hub again. I was able to eat Cafe Rio for the first time in four months, and I got to see Elder Hall and some of the other amazing missionaries I've come to know and love during my time here in the CFM. I feel like I find myself saying this fairly often, but missions really are crazy! You meet so many people and you learn so much. I know that missions truly are ordained of God - I'm so grateful to be a missionary! 

Love you all

Elder Jackson