Week 8 - The Last week in the CCM‏

Hola Familia!

Well it is the last week being in the CCM until PANAMA!! I am so excited and I can't wait to leave this place. That sounds horrible, but it is oh so true. The CCM has been a tough ride. Harder than school or anything I have gone through this far, but it is a great learning experience. I never would have thought that I would learn this much or work this hard and it feels great.

Last night we watched a video of Elder Bednar and he said the words, "You can do this!" That small little phrase lifted my spirits so much. I felt my best friends, my family, my teachers, leaders, apostles, prophet, and Jesus Christ tell me, "You can do this!" It really touched my heart and I know right now I can do this and everybody better watch out because here comes the gringa, Hermana Channing Jackson, about to preach your ears off.

Not much has been happening here. I have just been cramming down the Spanish and the Gospel into my head. My teachers said my Spanish comprehension has improved a ton, which makes me feel good. I know once I get to Panama I will have no idea what is happening or how to communicate, but I know that it will all come in time.

Hermana Hurst and I went tracting on our own yesterday without a latina companion. We were terrified. I was like crap, how in the devil are we going to communicate, but we did ok. There was one lady we ran into who we could understand. She works for Avon and I had alot to say about the makeup I liked. Good thing I learned all the makeup vocab this week. He He. It was the day after voting here and Guatemala's Independence day so it was a party. Gun shots, groups of people, fireworks, the works. So alot of people were out and about.

Mostly everyone would put their heads down and would avoid us. I have found that I need to be more forward which is difficult for me. But while I was walking down a street I heard these words in my head. "Be Aggressive Channing!" And can you guess who's voice it was? Dad's when I heard him yell that at me in the High School Gym at my basketball game. I was like, "Ok Dad.....I got this! " And I went forward and was aggressive.

On Monday I head to Panama so I don't know when I will be emailing. Here is the address they emailed me.

Misión Panama

Edificio Hi Tech Plaza, 5-D

Calle 53 y Calle 50

Marbella, Panama City

Republica de PANAMÁ

Ok so the sisters here have been reprimanding me for not taking certain kinds of vitamins or prenatal crap. This lady I have a class with on Sunday told me that I need to be taking all this stuff in order to have a healthy babies. She said some ginger plant would do it for me. I just smiled and said I will think about it. PFFFFFFHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I was no thanks.....I am not a partaker in herbal nonsense. Don't you know that I BELIEVE IN SCIENCE!!! Ha ha Nacho Libre is quoted quite often here.

The President here was giving a devotional about something, I wasn't really sure where he was going with it, but he came up to me in front of all the north Americans and said, "Sister Jackson I know you want to be a great cook for you family and kids someday". If anyone knows me they would know how I reacted. I laughed and realized the man was serious. I was like ummmmm I think I would rather marry a man who could cook or a man rich enough to hire a cook. Everyone died laughing. Some of the women of course, were blown away at my answer. I guess some people think that all of us women would jump at the chance to cook food for a man and children, wash their clothes, clean up after them and take care of them......WROOONNNNGGOOOOOo. I am stilling working on the vision of me being a Mother in Zion. Maybe I will get there someday. LOL

Well I'm glad that Cambria is playing volleyball, Dad is still hunting, Mom is doing Zumba, and Blake is still kickin. I hope Brett has a great time in Ecuador!

Well I love yah all. And hope you are doing great! I miss you but not enough to come home!

--
Hermana Channing Jackson