🎄Christmas Miracles⭐

December 6, 2021

Bonjour tout le monde!

This week was pretty amazing! In all honesty, it was probably one of my favorites on the mission so far. We were busy pretty much every day and we had some really incredible miracles so I’ll just get right into things.

This week we were once again able to help at a local super kitchen, and it is quickly becoming something I look forward to each week! The kitchen is in the basement of an older Catholic church and there are some truly wonderful people that volunteer there! I love service, and it feels great to serve the community and put aside any denominational barriers in the pursuit of a truly Christ-like cause. 

We also met with all of the families in the ward that speak Spanish this week to share a Christmas message and it was a ton of fun to get to see them again after the lock down! We got to act as Santa's elves for a member who had us drop off a Christmas package to the Lozada's, who are from Mexico, and then we got to meet with them later in the week to talk about Christmas and enjoy some arroz con leche together! After our lesson with Richard and Makarena, who are from Chile, we were about to walk out since Makarena had an online class starting until Richard insisted that we sit down and then proceeded to show off his guitar skills as he put on a mini concert for us with his electric guitar. He was insanely good! After the mission and once he's learned English I am definitely asking him for guitar lessons. 

I'd have to say that the straight up funnest event of this week was getting to ball it up Saturday morning with the Philippinos members in our ward. There were three families, our bishop, and us, and one of the families is actually less active but said that they are thinking of coming to church soon! I'm happy to say that my basketball skills have definitely improved on the mission, but what really made it fun was the atmosphere. Every member I've met from the Philippines is so humble, kind, and positive and Saturday was no different! 

Onto the true miracles of the week though, starting with those two promising referrals I mentioned last week. The first was for a lady named Niki who is going through a hard time since her husband is having some health challenges and can't work. She reached out to a member of our church living in Utah over Facebook, and we were able to reach out to her and set up a time to come do service so they can set up their Christmas tree this Wednesday! The other referral came from a set of missionaries serving in a small town in British Columbia for a lady named Felisha, and she is seriously amazing! She has so much faith and such a sincere desire to repent and follow the Savior. We met with her twice in the week and dropped of a copy of the Book of Mormon, and after studying it and praying she has already felt the influence of the Holy Ghost wash over her! To make things even more amazing she came to church on Sunday and is planning on coming again next week!

The last really amazing miracle I'll mention is our friend Harold! For those of you who remember, Harold is the man that some Sister in Halifax contacted on Facebook who we dropped off a copy of the Book of Mormon to. He ended up reading the entire thing in 4 days and then came to church, but he's been struggling with some doubts the last few weeks. He agreed to come to church this week though, and he and Felisha both had a good experience! After the first hour of church, Harold asked to meet with us alone to discuss once and for all the requirements for baptism, and after a spirit led lesson that lasted an hour and a half he agreed to be baptized on January 1st! I honestly can't think of a better way to start the new year, and I am so excited for him! It is clear that God has been watching over and preparing him his entire life, and I am so humbled that I get to be an instrument in God's hands to help him come unto Christ! 

This week it really feels like the windows of heaven have been opened, and for some reason God has continued to pour out his blessings. I realize more and more every day that this truly is His work and that my role is really just to live worthy of and follow His Spirit. To add to my joy, we are doing our best to spread the true Spirit of Christmas with everyone we meet, and I have to say that I just absolutely love Christmas. I think we've watched the Church's newest nativity video, The Christ Child, at least five times now but every time I can feel the Spirit and am so amazed and humbled by the Savior's condescension to be born into such humble circumstances to ultimately become our Savior and Redeemer. I know that more challenges will inevitably come, but when I think of the Savior I and His life, all of those trials seem small and insignificant. I'm so grateful that this Christmas season I get to go forth like the shepherds of old and testify of the Lamb of God, our Savior and Redeemer. 

Love you all, 

Elder Jackson