Hitch hiking to Merced (almost)

July 26, 2021

Bonjour tout le monde! 

I hope you're all doing well! Can you believe that this is the last week of July? Time just keeps flying by! It has been another great week as a missionary, at last has happened! 

It was sad to say goodbye to Elder Priestley, but I was grateful to have yet another opportunity to visit the temple grounds before we dealt with all of the logistics associated with transfers and transfer hub. It was sad to see so many missionaries that I love and admire getting ready to leave but it was also an important reminder that I need this short amount of time that I have as a missionary wisely. Missions are just a small part of our lifelong commitments to be disciples of Jesus Christ, but they play an essential role in shaping us for what is to come next and I, like many of you, want to be an instrument that the Lord can always count on. 

I got to spend the first few days of this week being hosted with two other missionaries living in Fresno and it was a ton of fun! I love getting to see different parts of the mission and to meet new missionaries. You meet so many different types of people on a mission but you come to realize that God knows and loves each and every one of them personally and we all have a unique part to play in this great work! 

The first few days with Elder Price have definitely been exciting! After all of the trainers met their trainees I was finally able to finish all of the paperwork required to drive a mission vehicle and my first experience driving a car in almost 10 months was driving from Fresno to Merced. All in all, things went pretty smoothly! We almost ran out of gas at one point but thankfully our prayers were answered and we were spared a long and embarrassing hike to a gas station haha

My new companion, Elder Price is from Meridian Idaho and I have really enjoyed our time together so far! We have been working hard the last few days and we have had a lot of awesome experiences that I wish I had the time to go into more detail but I just want to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon! I have been doing my best to bring up the Book of Mormon as often as humanly possible because it is true and I know that without a shadow of a doubt. There is not a single story or prophet or chapter in that book that I do not know and love and I know that everyone who studies it will grow to love it in the same way that I do because that is a promise from God! We should do all we can to flood our lives with the Book of Mormon because the difference that it makes and the power that it has are truly palpable. 

I love you all so much! 

Elder Jackson