Current Address

Sister Jorden Elizabeth Jackson
Philippines Baguio Mission
PO Box 115
National Highway
Brgy. Lingsat
San Fernando, La Union
2500,
PHILIPPINES

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

THAT MOMENT WHEN IT’S SO HOT YOUR THANKSGIVING JELLO MELTS BEFORE YOU CAN EAT IT




HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you all have so much to be thankful for in your lives. I sure do! I wrote a little list in my journal – not in any specific order – but here are the first 10 things that came to mind:

Electric fans
Shoes
Running water
Showers
Screens on windows
Bug spray
My companion
My family
The Gospel
The Atonement

When I read back through the list I realized the first 6 make it sound like I have been camping for a while. Maybe for a year. :)

Thanksgiving was so great. We walked over to the other sisters’ house to combine forces. We brought over mashed potatoes, gravy, jello (thank you gma and gpa J – I’ve been waiting until Thanksgiving to eat it), green beans, cake and chocolate chip cookies. SO GOOD! The other house got a couple of chickens, some DELICIOUS yams stuff made by Sister Mortell, rolls, corn, stuffing (also from Sister Mortell) and ice cream. None of us Americans are used to eating meals – we just snack all day…We got super full after we hardly even made a dent in the food. Then we went straight out to work and I almost barfed on the side of the road. Hot sun + full tummy + walking with a purpose = not good.

Anyway, it was a lovely Thanksgiving; one that I will for sure remember forever.

So, we HAD an investigator. Annie. She is 16. Annie is related to some recent converts in our ward. We have been teaching her for a couple weeks. She came to church once, Family Home Evening twice, and things seemed to be progressing well. Then, all of a sudden, she turned cold. My companion and I couldn’t figure out why – Did we do something? Did something happen at church? We finally caught her outside and after lots of digging we FINALLY figured out her concern. She said, “If I become Mormon, no one will pray for me when I am dead!” (She was worried about how her soul would become clean.) She also said, “You guys haven’t even told me where I will go after I die.” First, we taught the atonement –  Christ paid for our sins, and that all we need to do is repent and be baptized while we are here on earth in order to enter into His kingdom. We actually don’t need to pray for our deceased relatives souls in order for them to be cleansed from sin. I asked if we could teach her about life after death next time. She said no, so we taught that too. Seriously – one of the coldest teenagers EVER! After learning about the Celestial Kingdom, and the qualifications to enter, I asked her if she was willing to do those things. She said yes. I asked her to pray to know if our message is true. She said she would ask God. I said, “If our message is true, will you let us continue to teach you?” Annie said, “No.” *Awkward* “We can still be friends though.” #agency #logicthesedays #badbreakup

So that was by far the most kawawa lesson of the week…But if it weren’t for the kawawa lessons I wouldn’t be thankful for the UTTERLY RIDICULOUS lessons. GET EXCITED!

Last night we went to the Ordinarios. Their grandson, Arrol, is SUPER excited to be baptized. He is 14. Their two youngest sons were there, along with some cousins. So we were teaching five young adult/youth age guys and nanay. All the guys (except Arrol) were SUPER talkative and giggly. It was so funny. They were asking my companion all sorts of questions – How old are you? Where are you from? etc. Then she said, “I have one question for you. What were you all drinking before we got here?" #mycompanionissofunny They all denied it at first, then, after a while, Joel admitted, “ok…so I’m drunk…” Then the other three were like, “We’re not, we’re not…” more talking, then randomly Jason said, “All four of us our drunk.” Haha. That’s what I thought. Then they asked why alcohol is bawal (forbidden) and Loui said, “God said. It’s in the Bible…READ!” Bahahah! Loui is confused. Jason doesn’t want to come to church until he can come “dircto” or all the time. Joel is confused about curses – I think someone “cursed” him and he is concerned about that. Arrol was super bummed that we left without really sharing anything. What a great kid. And he is only 14! :)
Those UTTERLY RIDICULOUS lessons make me extra thankful for those funny sacrament meeting moments. Cause who doesn’t love to smile?

Sacrament meeting. I was sitting beside some recent converts, less actives and investigators (ok, can we just take a second and appreciate how AMAZING that is). One of our recent converts has the cutest, CRAZIEST two year old that I was trying to manage without holding him in my lap, carrying him, etc. I put an ice breaker in my hand and hid it. I did the thing that you used to do, dad, where we’d peel open your fingers one by one then you’d hide it again, then right before we got frustrated, you give it to us. Well, I forgot that ice breakers are a choking hazard. (I forgot choking hazards even exist because people here just give their kids everything.) Anyway, Ninyo didn’t eat the candy right away. He pinched it in his fingers and licked it. Then, started panting and waving his arms around until his mama gave him water. This process repeated until he accidentally swallowed it. He was doing that coughing/choking thing and he ALMOST puked. In sacrament meeting.#badmissionarymoment Just wait, it gets better. This kid wears pants to church, but that’s about it. He never has pants on – birthday parties, hanging out around the house, the neighborhood…wala. So he took off his pants in sacrament meeting. Then he relieved himself on the floor. Good thing it’s tile! They used the pants to wipe up the mess, but it didn’t quite do the job because the floor got a little muddy as kids walked out of church.  #ilovemylife :)

I really do love my life here in the Philippines. I love the people and the culture. I’m so happy to be here as a missionary right now. I get to spread the gospel message of peace and joy at this special time of year. I hope your homes will be filled with the spirit of Christ’s love this holiday season.



We tried to make a Thanksgiving cake in our rice cooker. Failed. 





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