Awake from the sleep of death, AND. BE. MEN.

Hello!  Well thank you for sending those packages!  New shoes are better than no shoes!  My card expires in February of next year.  YEah, here it tells me how much I have.  I was thinking of buying a watch since mine broke carrying yuka sacks.  I was also going to look for new suit cases.  And maybe I´ll be able to patch up a few of my shoes too.  That´d be good.  There´s a member who does it.  But I wonder how the packages will arrive... everytime I get them they look like they had to fight their way out of an elephants behind to just see the light of day.  They´re all wet and torn and stuff...  But they arrive just the same!  And nothing missing.  So rock on!

 

 Well I´m glad Grandma had a good birthday.  And they´re going to Hawaii?!  OOoooh fancy fancy.  I hope they send me a coconut bra.  It´d mix up my wardrobe of white shirts and black pants.

 

Ah poor ol Buddy.  I´m sure he´s having a ball in the spirit world though.

 

Hey does Blake look healthier now?  How´d the swimming work out for him?  Good stuff!

 

Well today was a cleaning day.  3 more missionaries are coming to stay with us today.  Whew.  Elder Jackson´s Home of Homeless Missionaries.  Hopefully we find some good companions to take them to a loving sector so that they can actually do something with their missions. :)

  

Ah, it´s terrible!  I simply don´t know what to write any more.  I´m doing good.  I´m loving life.  I feel that I have so much more to improve still but it´s like time is against me.  The beginning of the mission was like running up a muddy slope but now that I´m on the other end it´s just as slippery and I´m sliding down as I try to scramble for more time.  It´s madness!!

 But I love life!  Hope you have a great week!  I love you and thank you for all your help!!  Adios!!

 

What´d Elder Jackson say to the Fungus? I didn´t like you at first, but now you´re growing on me!!‏

Hello!  Hey thanks for the shoes.  My last pair, the doc martins, now have holes as well and it´s been quite rainy here in Quito.  I´m sick of wet feet!!  So thank you very much.  And also the shirts!  I really need them!

I reaaaally need to write Papa a letter.  I love that guy.

Yeah conference was great!  They were already sending missionaries from Mexico at 18, as well as in Chile I believe.  It´s awesome that they´ll be doing that for everybody now.  And mom may I just say you are a visionary woman.  A BYU freshman class of just girls..... one Brett Jackson entering BYU as a freshman..... WOOOHOOO!!  It´s the revelation that just keeps on giving :)

Well this week was really good.  Dang it!  I just realized have little time.  I get too distracted with this one hour going and looking what´s goin on on lds.org and what not.  I gotta kick it into gear!

So um yes this week was good.  We had zone leaders council (16 missionaries in my poor house) and mini conferencia (my capacitacion wasn´t so awful this time, I´m improving!)  and general conference.  Sister Ghent made corn bread and chili.  OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh that was delicious.  There´s actually 6 gringo families in our stake.  That was strange to see.  Um I did divisions with the assistants and yeah.  We´re trying to help some families get married and just try to get into a rhythm this week.  It´s been hard to find time to just spend time getting to know my investigators and members and we´re already almost half way through the change!!  But I´ll keep on trying to be better.

Well that´s all I have time for, thanks for everything mom.  Tell Dad I said hi.  Tell anybody I know that I said hi.  And I love you guys!  See ya later!

And I´m Feelin Good

HEY MOM!!  I love you and everything you do for me! 

So because of this week I now have more faith that God has a purpose for me here in Quito and that He can guide me to fulfill those purposes.  A week of miracles!!

Um so I´m here in the Luz as I said.  Big zone.  Big ward.  Oh wow it´s like a real functional ward!!  Amazing.  And I was pretty bummed to leave my beloved Coca, tears were shed, and I was even more bummed having to come to Quito.  But Heavenly Father is merciful.

So here in the Luz we´re a hotel for other missionaries.  The missionaries come here to die, they come here to give birth (when they´re going to train new missionaries), and they come here when there´s a meeting in Quito.  We have more than 8 beds, we have 2 bathrooms, and a big ol white board.  We have chandeliers.  Ritzy ritzy.  The only bummer is that I have to clean the house.  Daft.  And then clean up after the missionaries.  But oh well.  And right now they´re two sick missionaries living with us.  Elder Putnam, from my group, and Elder Almachi. One has a damaged spine and the other is a mystery still and we´ve been going to the hospital to find out.  We've gone like 5 times this week to take tests, talk with the doctor, and pay for the whole thing.  But they´re great guys.  We´ve almost had no time to work in our sector this week because of the sickness and visits and what not but in spite of all that, we found 2 families and have helped 2 inactive families reinvigorize their testimony.  We have 3 people with baptismal date with 2 days of pure working.  And this is in a sector that hasn't baptized for 6 months!!  It was a miracle.  The Lord has blessed us with so much and I´m feeling awesome.  I don´t have time to tell you the stories right now but just to let ya now that I feel really hopeful for this next change.

Thanks mom for the shirts and socks.  I really need them!!!   Um I´ll see if I can do something about the shoes.  I love the fall pictures.  I guess cold weather does have it´s beauty.  Is there anything else I was supposed to do?  Hope you enjoyed your birthday!  Well thanks I love ya I gotta go chaooo!!

GAH

Hello!  Well there were changes today and they took me out of my jungle.  They dumped off here in Quito again.  In zona Quito.  Zona de President Ghent and the offices and pretty much the biggest zone of the mission.  OOO dear.....

But I`m alive.  I don´t have time to write much because i need to take another hour bus to get to my sector but I thought I`d just tell you that I`m alive and well!  Thanks!

Mom I`m 17.  or 17 and a half.  I`ll answer the other questions later, I don`t have time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THE 27th!!!  ENJOY IT!  EAT DRINK AND BE MERRY!!

Love ya all, see ya!  I``m off to die in the heart of the city!