🍇 The Lord's Vineyard pt 2

August 30, 2021

Qu'est-ce que sup! 

Boy, it's been quite the week! We've had a lot of really awesome experiences and I've got some really exciting news! As hard as it is to believe, this week was the end of the transfer! Almost equally hard to believe is that today I hit my 11 month mark! Even harder to believe is a piece of new that I got from our mission president today, I will be going to my original assignment in the Canada, Montréal Mission on September 16th! I'm honestly still in shock. I still don't think it's really set in yet, but I am so excited! I am so grateful for the time I have spent here in the Central Valley though and I want to finish off strong! 

We had some really amazing experiences this week that I wish I had more time to go into, but I will do my best to summarize two of the most remarkable. 

We were finally able to meet with our friend Dondiago this week. We haven't been able to meet the past few weeks since he's been busy, but our lesson was well worth the wait! Last time we met we taught him the Restoration and invited him to read the Book of Mormon, and this week when we followed up on his reading we were amazed to learn that he was on page 92! He is literally almost done with 2 Nephi, and he said that he really loves reading it and that it has answered questions he's had for his entire life! That was probably one of the biggest miracles I've seen on my mission so far. 

The next experience I want to share is how we met our new friend Erika! We knocked on her door on a whim as we were trying to follow the Spirit and the first time we knocked she talked to us over her smart doorbell and she said that we could come back sometime. So we did, and this time she wasn't home. This week though we stopped by once again pretty much on a whim, or so we thought, and she instantly invited us in and we had a really awesome impromptu lesson! She shared some really amazing experiences she has had and told us that she had met with missionaries 31 years ago while she was growing up in Guatemala. We testified of the Book of Mormon and the way it can bless her and her family, and I can't wait to meet with her again soon! 

This week we also had the amazing opportunity to serve in the church's vineyard that is located nearby in Madera! It was hot and dusty work, but I enjoyed every second of it! The grapes we harvested will be dried and turned into raisins, and those raisins will be sent around the world as part of the church's humanitarian efforts! The best part of it all though is that our friends Thomas and Angel decided to join us and the rest of the ward! They both had a great time and got to interact with and get to know lots of the amazing members that we have in our ward! It was easily one of my favorite experiences I've had on my mission! 

I love being a missionary, and I love the Central Valley! 

Love you all, 

Elder Jackson