Hey! this week was super cool.. Literally at the beginning of the week EVERY APPOINTMENT that we had planned fell through. It was super tough because we really didn’t have very many people that were progressing, so we just did a whooooole ton of walking around our area trying to FIND.

On Tuesday we had our zone conference! It was the first one that we have had with the new pres and it was super good. They talked a lot about repentance and being worthy to do the Lords work. Then they took us to lunch at some restaurant that was just around the corner! They are so loving though and I can already see the difference in the mish because of it! For example on Saturday our stake pres called a meeting for our entire zone and he just asked us what our opinion was on how he could do better and what we could do as a stake to get more people to church! They’re really starting to WORK here! And hopefully we will see the fruits of it soon!

Friday we had work visits! I was with Hna Brotherson in my area (she is from Virginia). Like I said we have just not had very many people to work with, and all of our appointments had fallen through by the afternoon. So I told Brotherson that we were gonna contact a house. Well we went up to the open window and started to contact an older lady with her niece! In the beginning they were soooo hard hearted. They live right in front of the church and we asked them if they had ever gone inside or attended before and she said that she refused to attend because one time one of the people that attends there invited her and when she told them that she was catholic she said they told her that she did not understand who God was or his purpose and she was really offended! At first she did nottt wanna talk to us at all, but as we started asking her questions about herself and began to testify a little bit about what we do as missionaries she began to soften up. Then we asked her if we could share a message with her and SHE LET US IN. We both were super stunned haha but we came in and shared a simple message of Christ. The lesson was so guided by the spirit, we weren’t using any fancy words or using any big stories but just testifying that Jesus Christ lives and loves us. By the end of the lesson they both had softened their hearts and the older lady Manuela said that we could come back to visit her and that her niece would try to be there when we came.. So amazing how the lord guides us to his children.

Hermana Emerita assisted church this Sunday!!! She is the wife of the patriarch! That’s the first time in over a year. We were super super happy and the bishop was really surprised and super happy as well. Also one of our investigatora Sulema attended but she came late after the sacrament! She is one of our progressing inv and has a desire to repent because she has done a lot of things in her past; hopefully we see more of a change in her this week!

Another experience that I had was with a cute little lady named Ruth. Ruth doesn’t have very much education and can’t read, so we teach her very simple and very small concepts. Yesterday we taught her about prayer and we were explaining how Cristo and God are two different people and that when we are praying we are talking to God but Christ is the one who is carrying our prayers to him. But she just couldn’t really understand the concept! So I ended up taking out a piece of paper and drawing stick figures of God, Jesus the Holy Ghost and us, Gods children and THEN she understood. By the end of the lesson we asked her to pray, and she said a very short very simple prayer but did it in the correct way. We told her to keep practicing and she asked me for the drawing that I made so that she could hahahaha I loved this humble experience though because now she talks to her heavenly father and I know that he has been waiting to hear from her.

I’ve had so many humbling experiences this week that I don’t have time to write them all. But I just feel grateful because I know that God is testing my diligence in this area! We hardly had any people to teach in the start of this week and by the end we had made some pretty awesome contacts with a lot of cool people. I know the Lord always provides a way (:

Love you guys!

Hermana Jackson

PS.  I FORGOT TO TELL YOU I let Hermana Brotherson cut my hair hahaha because the ends were in such bad shape and I just want it to grow already. So it seems short again to me but it’s a ton healthier. AND it was the first person to ever cut my hair besides you!!! Crazy! Also, No she’s not a professional stylist but she did a good job. hahaha

With the Hna's at Zone Conference

Cute little tree frog

With Hna Vasquez at Zone Conference.  She is from Arizona.

Changes - Not Changed

This week we had changes!!! I thought for sure that I would be leaving cause of my stalker dude but... I STAYED. Hermana Mucha is the one that had changes!!! And it was actually super funny how we found out. On Monday night we were in the house planning, well the hour passed 9:40 pm and I thought… well guess neither of us have changes... then we get a call at 10:15pm from Presidente Li! My comp was in the shower and I answered! He asked Hermana Mucha?! And I responded no pres I’m Jackson! And he said muy bien Hermana I’m calling to tell you that you have cambios! You’re going to be the new Hermana leader in zona Iquitos! And I asked him.. Wait me?! haha and he said YES the assistants’ will call you later and let you know all the details! Well I started freaking out a little bit because it’s a lot of responsibility to be in charge of all the Hermana;s! But then I remembered that first he had said HELLO HERMANA MUCHA hahahahaha so I started telling my comp that it was HER that had changes!! But she didnt wanna be changed so she said that it was me and I shouldn’t doubt my calling! So then we just started laughing super hard because we really had no idea who had changes haha and we debated for like 10 minutes about calling pres Li and asking him. Well long story short... my comp had changes not me (; it was super funny.

On Tuesday I dropped off Mucha in the offices and said bye to Willis and Wood because they both are going to Pucallpa! Mucha is still here in Iquitos just a different stake. My new comp got here at 3 pm and I went and picked her up with Hermana Cantos! She is super cute, her name is Hermana Gonzales. She has 7 months in the mission and she is from Lima! She has the voice of minnie mouse haha but we get along pretty well and we are actually really alike so I think this change is gonna be really cool with her.

We definitely saw some miracles this week! One night we were passing by an old man on our way to teach our inv. Liselet and Victor! And I felt like we should go back and contact him! Well this old guy turned out to be a member who hadn’t attended church in 25 YEARS, since his wife died while they were living in Trujillo. He says that he wants to come back to church and start again. We gave him a new BOM so he could start reading again, and we just passed the reference to the elders because he lives alone!

The other experience that we had was on the weekend when we were working in the morning! One of our cita’s (appointments) fell through and there was really no one else to teach around there, so I decided to call Jenny, one of our investigators but she didn’t answer, so I decided we might as well go to her house to see if she was home! Well Jenny wasn’t home but we found her friend Maria who lives with her! She has a great comprension (comprehension) of God and Christ and we feel like she is really prepared to hear the gospel!

Also on Wednesday we taught Ines another investigator! This lesson was really inspired. She has not completed any of her compromisos!! And when I asked her truly whhyyyyy she doesn’t read her BOM she told me that it’s because she doesn’t feel good enough to change. A ton of things happened between her and the father of her hijos (children) and she says that she cannot forgive him or herself and for this she has a really hard heart. We taught her that through faith in Christ and his atonement he can soften her heart and little by little change her into the person that she wants to become and leave these feelings of hatred behind. She finally said that she was going to read the BOM! 

Something that broke my heart this week was that Hno Felix my fav person is really sick.. he has been preparing to go to the temple for 3 months, saving money, having his interviews, paying his tithing, and non stop talking about how it was finally going to take his investidura (investment).. Apparently when he got to Lima, all the excitement was just too much for him and his emotions caused his mental health to spiral. I went to see him yesterday and it’s a complete change. His thoughts are all mixed so when he talks the words are all jumbled, and if you ask him a question he responds to something that’s completely different. I asked him if he was praying and he told me that he had keiko (girl that was running for pres) on his keychain. One thing that was super tender was that he said my favorite hymn is 10! And I said well Hno Felix lets sing your favorite hymn. When we were singing he just started to cry.. But I felt the spirit in those tender words of this hymn. I know God has a plan for all of us. There is a perfect reason for why Felix didn’t get to walk through those doors of the temple just yet. And I truly think it’s to humble his daughter who is not a member, and help her come unto the good shepherd.

I love this gospel and I loooove my family.

Thanks for everything!

Hermana Jackson

The spider inside Hermana Gonzales net around her bed when 

she woke up one morning.

Picture in the offices with Hna Willes before she left for her change to Pulcapa.

President and Hma Li are Awesome!

Hey family! This week was pretty good! On Tuesday we were finallllly able to meet President Li and Hermana Li. They’re so awesome. They are converts to the church and they were converted by Hermana missionaries that came knocking on their door in search for another person, but the Lord guided them to their house, and in no time their family accepted the gospel. All of their kids are sealed in the temple and now their dad is our mission president!!! So crazy. But they are sooo loving and super excited to just work. President Li said he doesn’t like to stay in the office much and he’s gonna start proselyting with all the bishops in Iquitos. They’ve already made some pretty cool changes! Before we had to have 100 contacts for the week, and now our goal is 26... super crazy but way cool because to count as a contact we have to get their direccion (address) and the people have to have a desire for us to return to their house and teach them, it’s a lot more efficient because missionaries aren’t just contacting for numbers but contacting for visits. My comp and I were able to sit down with Hna Li after the conference and talk all about her time that she had in the MTC in Provo!! She showed me allllllll her pictures of Provo canyon and of Bridal Veil Falls haha, I miss home now(; no but it was cool!

This week we have been visiting the members more and it’s worked for us super well!! All the members that we have visited have given us references of their other family members that are less actives, so that’s how we have been finding new people.

Even though we are finding every week, the people just are not progressing very much in this area. The only ones that are really progressing are Liselet and Victor. They are the couple that live in the house of a member! I think I already told you a little about them but they attended church again this week! And the last time we visited them they just kept telling us of their desire to learn more about the gospel, and we really can see how the lord is preparing them because when we first started visiting them they really had no desire whatsoever!

This weekend, one morning I felt like we should go and contact a lady that was standing outside on her porch, but as we approached her she went back into her house... haha but there was another lady that had been smoking that was sitting outside of her house at the next casa over and we decided to contact her instead. Well she said she had attended church before and she was a suuuper sweet lady who says she just has a habit to smoke out of stress. She’s like 77 years old, but we are excited to teach her more about the gospel because she’s really receptive to it!

Oh I forgot to tell you that the other night we were walking with a member and I totally fell in a huge ditch....... hahahaha it was really funny cause the first thing I did when I got up is ask if anyone saw me (luckily only this guy in a wheelchair that was behind us saw the whole thing) but basically we were just walkin and talkin and I don’t know, I just didn’t see the huge ditch in front of us and I stepped right down into it instead of jumping over to the other side of the pavement haha I’m okay I just was lying flat on my stomach and scrapped my arm and knee but it didn’t hurt..  I think it was just a rain ditch but idk haha Everyone this week has asked me about the scrape that I have on my arm and then after I tell them they ask me if my glasses work.. I’m thinking I’ve gotten a little blinder here haha

Also I played the violin for the first time in 9 months haha. We were searching for one to play for like 2 weeks and turns out that the niece of my pensionista had one!! But it’s the size of my very first violin that I played when I was like 6.... hahahahaha, so it was kind of a struggle trying to play that little guy. But I played ‘Come Though Fount’ in sacrament meeting while the other missionaries gave their talks! I didn’t have any accompaniment, No one knows how to play instruments here haha and I had to use some bad sheet music that I found on the internet and improvise in a couple places. But it was a pretty cool Sunday.

This week I read the talk, Do you Love Me? by Elder Holland. He gave it in general conference in 2013 I think! It’s really good, go read it!

Today we have changes!! And my comp says that she thinks  I’m leaving for sure.. I don’t know though haha I’ll let you know next week what happened(:

Anyways love you guys!!! Thanks for the prayers they help a ton!!!

Love, Hermana Kaitlyn Jackson 

OH and I finally got your package from the office!!! The scrabble (Gma Jackson's recipe for chex mix snack) was my fav part!! And the camel , hump day :) !!! Super cute!!! Thanks for the shirts too I wore the cute blue one for the conference with the Li’s.

With her Pensionista and ? daughter ?

Loving the package she received!

With Hna Mucha on the left of Kaitlyn and ward members

Heading to a BBQ or possibly just taught this cute little guy how to hogtie a pig... hahahaha

With Hna Wood at the big conference to meet the new mission president and wife.

President and Hna Li from Lima, Peru

Motocart ride

What in the world ?? That’s so crazy that you had to get tires again!!!  We really do have the worst luck with tires I don’t know what it is but we should always have like 2 spare tires when we go on trips, then we’d always be prepared(; But the trip sounds like it was super fun!!! You’ll have to take me to Wahweap when I get home. And I didn’t know you got a kayak for Christmas!!!!!! That’s so coolllll though!  I want one toooo.. But I won’t be home for Christmas); So for sure when I get home (:

The family home evening with the Gomez’s was pretty cool, we played games as a zone - we had a big rock-paper-scissors game and that was pretty funny! Then we went back in the chapel and had a question and answer thing and President Gomez said that one of the biggest lessons that he had learned from his mission was to listen more to his wife!! 

This week up until Friday and Saturday we hardly had any lessons!! We just did a bunch of walking around and contacting people that weren’t very interested. Ugh it made for a suuper long week. But on Friday we had a work visit! Hermana Willis came to my area. She’s super cool and one of my really good friends here in the mission! She only has one more change left here and then she’s going back home so she’s feelin pretty nervous haha but it was super cool teaching with her. We were able to teach a new investigator and her husband, Janina and Kenny! He is part of the military so he isn’t home very much but he is super cool. They both are about 27 years old and like everyone here have a catholic background! They didn’t attend church this week but when we taught them they were really interested to learn more. 

The only investigators that came to church this week were a family that lives in the Sandoval house, who are the less actives that we just retained! This is the 2nd time that they’ve come to church so we are pretty excited to see their progression and the Sandoval family has been super awesome to help them with their progress too!

That night Hna Willis and I just talked a lot about everything! And something random that came up was that she used to work at the Sammy’s pie milkshake shop in Provo!! After that we both just realllllly wanted a pie milkshake.... mom next package (;

Another less active that we are teaching is Luis! He is about 40 and has a 13 year old boy. He’s separated from his wife and hasn’t gone to church in a long time since then, but he served a mish and has a strong testimony of the gospel and tells us all the time but still just doesn’t do anything with his agency to follow Christ’s teachings! His son is really sick though, he has cancer of the blood (Leukemia?) and is going to Lima in a month where his mom lives - everyone who is really sick goes to Lima because the hospitals here are terrible - but the sad thing is that the boy doesn’t even know that he has cancer and no one wants to tell him!! They say its better this way so that they don’t scare him but it’s the saddest thing ever! But we had a good lesson with Luis on faith though and he came to church with his son Aaron yesterday!

Yesterday was an awesome Sunday. I really look forward to every sacrament meeting just to participate in the sacrament. It’s amazing that for something that takes such a short time to participate in, it really is such a sacred thing, so make sure you guys are doing everything you can to make it spiritual and prepare to have your covenants renewed. So that’s it from missionary Kaitlyn(;

Love you! Hermana Jackson