Que Raro? Que Pena?‏

Sup


Dad sounds like his usual self. Mom sorry that work is ridonkulous. What is happening in politics anyway. Not that I really care but some natives ask me and I have no idea. Some of the missionaries asked if I was going to get a mail in vote thing and I said As if....pfffffff. Doubt I will vote again to be quite honest. I am starting the Party of Nothing.


Well Blake my suggestion for you is to stop applying and build your own empire of business. Stock Market! Photo shoots! Do what ever you have to to get money and take over the world.


Brett you crack me up as usual. I didn´t know you guys use chuso or chuleta! I use that all the time. And I can now to the finger snapping thing and look good doing it. mmmhhhhhmmmmm.


Cambria way to run the basketball program.


Mother I need garments. The silky kind. All my other ones are brown and missing the crotch part. Dead serious. There is some breezy breeze goin on up in there. Not good for the health. I also need a new pair of pants. But I don´t know where I am going to get those because I don´t think people here are my size.

And I need scripture covers for my Spanish Bible and Triple. But I want cool ones. Maybe scripturecovers.comhas some.hmmmmm I will have someone look into it. Or I can...This one.http://www.scripturecovers.com/suede-cases/latin-suede-scripture-covers-for-spanish-lds-bible-triple/ or something cool. I want a picture on them like everyone else here has.

Also is there a way that someone can print out the missionary picture of me and give it to the grandmas. I had a dream of that nasty picture of me on Grandma Bagwell's Wall of the 15 year old me. Geeeoooooooooo. Take that Crap Down! Put something classy up there.


So this week was really good. Alot of new people and people actually attending church and progressing. ANDDDDD D We have a fech or baptism Date for my main man Samudio! Wooo hooo! I really hope I don´t get changed the next cambio. I want to be here in Doleguita for my investigadors who are going somewhere.

My companion and I kick trash. I really like her. She is a very patient person. She practices with me everyday with my Spanish and teaching. I can finally get to a point of teaching all the lessons. Now I am working on starting lessons and better contacting skills. The Plan of Salvation is a killer though. The Premortal life and this Life are so long. O well. I understand it all now.

So we taught the Plan of Salvation alot this week. There was this Lady Patricia with her two Denmark daughters. They live in this huge nice nice house that is decorated so artsy. I love the decorations. Well she is big on religion and the word of God and wants her daughters to be good Christians. She is big on helping the young and starts big programs that teach kids at a young age. Her three year old sounds like an adult. Her Spanish is amazing. I was like wooooo she is three? Well we were teaching her the P.O.S. And She was sooo intrigued. She said I have never heard of any of this before. It all makes sense. Yeah it makes sense. Because it is true. People think we are going straight to heaven or hell but do they think about the resurrection and the judgment first...Nope...So where do are spirits go. To the Spirit World of Course! It is a genius plan that only God could have made. Love it! We only did the half part and we are visiting her again tonight. So yeah.

My Spanish is way way better this week. We have missionary moments in sacrament meeting where one of the companions go up`and share a message. Well I have never been called up before. The Bishop called my name and gave me a sly smile. And I was like watch this! So I pull out some scriptures and I give an inspiring message. I basically told everyone that we have a part to play and to get on it. Everyone told me my Spanish was perfect. So I felt good about myself. Muahahahahaha.

We also visited this lady named Iris. She has 11 kids and she lives in a shack. She is very into the Bible and has a lot of questions. The lessons we taught her were so good. But now we found out she is moving. But to another area where there are missionaries. Whew. IT was so funny so she brought out all her kids to greet us. The last one was the baby and one of the daughters was holding her. Well when she said his name. He started peeing. There wasn´t a diaper on the kid, but he had clothes. Some how the the pee was shooting out everywhere. I jumped up because it almost hit me and then I realized that my scriptures where on the ground. SAVE THE SCRIPTURES! So I dove for them. And then I started laughing because everyone else was laughing. the mother was so embarrassed. I thought it was funny.

Also there are iguanas falling from trees here. I was singing a hymn to this person and I here this thump! and I looked behind me and it was this large iguana. That thing fell from a high tree. Then the little thing took off running! I was like what the fetch.

Anyway. Everything is going good here! Tell everyone I say Hi! Well love you guys and miss you all...but not enough to come home! PAZ!




--
Hermana Channing Jackson

These are My Confessions‏

Hedi hidi ho!

What is up my people in a different nation. It sounds like everyone is having one heck of a time.

I hope Grandma Jackson is doing better...poor woman. She needs to use a walker or something. She is going to kill herself.

Brett you are out of control but as always thank you for the advice and the wonderful random comments that I literally laugh out loud at. Keep smearin the butter on the pan yo! Keep rockin out to the Party rock Athem that is always playin on the Radio. Everyday I´m shuffling....

Blake get a cool job somewhere cool so I can come live with you after the miss.....

I am glad to know that Mary is putting facebook statuses of me. If only Ashley would write an email or something. Tell her to email! i haven´t been able to send mail because of all the holidays going on. Today is one. This internet place was the only thing open in the City.

The rice is killing me. Have any of you be so constipated, so frustrated...well let me tell you how I felt. 5 days....that's right. 5 days without feeling the sweet relief. I looked 9 months pregnant. I was huge this week and I think I gained so much weight. It is the rice. I told my cook that i couldn't´t go to the bathroom and i need to eat better. She said it is normal here. I am like no duh, Rice potatoes. etc... your butts are all clogged as is mine right now! So I had alot of fruit and water this week. Finally this morning I did it!

I am glad that everyone is on my side about the bishop thing. I was like why am I letting a bishop treat me like this...I will throw some English words in his face and say look it up! I might just do what mom said and tell him to translate this..%&$·"%$·%&$%!!!!! I felt like crap but this week I did my best and i happened to read something in the Liahona this month. Remember the talk by Carl something about Looking up. Well I read a story about how he was in Germany in the Language Training Center and how he was struggling with German. Everyone in his class was ahead of him and it was really hard on him. well he decided to pray in a broom closet. He said in his prayer the lord answered. I didn´t call you to be a master of the language, I just asked you to serve with all your heart mind and strength. And Carl said...I can do that. When I read that there was this ray of hope. I was like hey I can do that too! Yes I am behind in Spanish, but if i just serve with all my heart mind and strength all will be well.

I had a lot of cool experiences this week. We were contacting and we came to this house with a little woman. We said hey can we sing you a hymn and share a message with you. We sang Cuando hay Amor...or Love at Home. well during this song I was suddenly hit with the spirit and I looked up and this lady was crying. I was like ooo no...she has home problems. Her daughter came out and was holding her. When we finished the song my companion gave her some comforting words and a message of hope and the Lady told us that we have to come back. And then when it was time to give the closing prayer she asked me to do it. I was like o dear what do i say. I gave a quick personal prayer and said please let it help her. well I started praying for her and I know I was speaking but it was not me...it was the spirit. Because I was using words I didn´t know before. I almost started crying for her because I just really wanted her to be happy and I knew that Heavenly father could help her. Well after we had left my companion told me. Hermana Jackson you said everything in your prayer that I was saying in my personal prayer. Word for Word. I was like QUE RARO! How odd huh! But cool. I am excited to see her again. Also my main man Samudio came to church and we are putting a baptism fecha! Whoop Whoop! I hope I don´t get changed.

This week we had interviews with President Ward and Hermana Ward. They went really well. Hermana Ward wasn´t happy about the bishop thing. But President Ward made me feel better about the Spanish thing. He said Hermana Jackson you´ve had a rough start. You had two horrible Companions, stomach problems and you kinda know Spanish, but you are still here...you are sticking it out. He said maybe your purpose here is to help you in someway. The Lord wants to help you strengthen your weaknesses. Then he asked about my reasons for coming on the mission. And I ´ll share it with you all.I don´t know if i ever told you guys why I chose to go on a mission. My first reason was to fix me. I wanted to be a happy, spiritual, confident, and loving person. I had a lot of problems and I wanted the mission in someway to change me and fix me into a better person. I wanted to be as good as my siblings and I wanted to feel like I belonged in my family. My second reason was that I have a powerful testimony of The Atonement and Repentance and I know that through Jesus Christ we can be saved from the darkness. And I know that this gospel can save others like it saved me.

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm. You can take some of the heat here. Love you guys and miss you..but not enough to come home!

Peace and Blessings yall!

--
Hermana Channing Jackson

Coloradito es mi otro nombre!‏

Well the world didn´t end. Alot of people were freaking out and doing some last minute repenting. Cracks me up.

Well this New years consisted of a ton of Fireworks, drinking, partying, and craziness. So we didn´t really do much on the day before new years, and the day of new years. Because on the day of new years everyone was on hangovers and sleeping on the side walks. I wanted to throw some Word of Wisdom in their faces. But alas I did not. Gross.

Well sounds like everything at home is going great. Receptions, everybody throwing up, and the lake! And Colton has some walking foot problem. Would collapse in the middle of the street or something like that. Poor Man well tell him I say Hi.

Brett, your Spanish is fan freaking tastic. I understood all of it. Whoa. You do things differently that's because you're all kinds of advanced than me and you're in a different country. Panamanians have a weird way of speaking. My Guatemalan companion says it is really different here too.

I had a meeting with the Bishop yesterday and he told me my Spanish is bad and that it's sad I almost have 6 months in the mission and can't speak right. Needless to say I started crying. And he made me read a verse in the Book of Mormon 4 times until I could get it right. I seriously felt like crap. But its ok. I know eventually I will be able to get it. Faith, practice, studying, and confidence. So I am glad that you have it down. That's awesome. I just can't let these people get me frustrated because that is of the devil. I just wish there were people more patient. Including me. Wish I could have talked to you. Next Christmas!

Before New Years day we had service and this service was awesome. Making TAMALES! Holy crap! It was long and hard but the end of it was soooo sweet.....in my mouth! Cutting up peppers, onions, garlic and other spices. Cooking different types of meats and adding flavors to that. Then came the corn! They use old corn here because the Tamales are better that way. So we cut the corn then we ground it up into this mesh. Then we had to take these giant banana leaves and clean them. We put the corn mesh on the banana leaf, added the meats and other stuff and then wrapped it up in the leaves and tied it with strings. It was sooo coool. Lots of videos and pictures. We also did rice and this dulce pan. It is like a fruit cake. I wrote down the recipe because it was sooo good. I had a lot of fun and hey I learned something. Even though I was the gringo who didn´t do it right and they kept correcting me. O well it was a cool experience.

We had a cool experience this week with a girl named Lourda. She is 18 years old and super cool. We found her on Tuesday and met with her on Thursday. She was all alone and we started teaching lesson one on the restoration. We asked her if she had ever thought about why there are some many churches on the earth when Christ established one church, one baptism, etc... She said she had never thought about it, but a boy in her Catholic class did. She said before my first communion there was a boy in my class who asked the Teacher, Why are there so many churches and which one of them is true? The Teacher went on to explain that the church that Christ established is true, but as to which one on the earth today is they don't know. I thought this to be interesting. He didn´t say that the Catholic church is true. So she was always confused about that. Then we started to testify and the spirit was like a powerful craziness and she was soo positive and was accepting everything we were saying. Then her mom came. We were like o no! But the thing is, is that the lesson got better. Her mom dropped in on the conversation and we gave her a watered down version on lesson 1. Then we gave her the pamphlet and I saw her reading the first vision part and she muttered under her breath this is beautiful. I was like whoa! Whoa! Positives! And now we have more appointments and they are coming to church with us! Wooo! It was really cool.

As Brett has said. I really like being a missionary. Once you go on a mission and experience first hand conversion and watching people change their lives you realize how important all this is. And just by studying the plan of Salvation and the gospel is general. We have some serious work to do ahead of is. Just make sure that you and your fellow beings are enduring to the end!

Well I hope you guys have a good week. All is well All is well...There is no end to Zion people! Miss you and love you guys but not enough to come home. Give me a year and I´ll think about it! Peace out peeps!

Supe la fecha hoy‏

Feliz Navidad!

Well all went well. Great phone call. The only sad thing was that I didn't talk to Brett, we well have to wait for that one.

Release date for me is a year from today. Maybe they will let me come in time for Christmas.

Brett since I didn't talk to you I will write to you in my other almost native language.

Feliz Navidad y prospero Ano Nuevo! Yo espero lo mejor en toda lo que estas haciendo! Sea lo mejor! Seguir el espirtu con valor! Sacar la Basura! Producir su estres! Recordar que Blake era el mayor de los cuarto pero nosotros somos hermoso. Por Seguro! CARGO! FUEGO FUEGO!! Yo sempre acudire usted por su dirreccion. Lo mejor es orar! jajajajajaja. La decision de obedecer es nuestra, y la responsabilidad de actuar es suya!

Hope you are doing well my brother in Ecuador! Miss yah lots and I bought some aviators at a chino in remembrance of you. Ill send you some peanut butter sometime.

Well Not much this week! Love yah lots! Miss yah but not enough to come home!

--
Hermana Channing Jackson

Hermana Jackson The Apostasy Slayer!‏

Hola Everyone!

Well It sounds like everyone is doing good.

Blake is graduated. Wow. That's all kinds of Crazy. What now?

Brett. Be Smart or suffer the Fart.

Cambria you old woman you. We had a missionary party on the day of your birthday. It was a pretty sad day for me. I am finally realizing this is my first Christmas away from home. I guess I never thought about it. Hermana Wilkinson sang Ill be home for Christmas and I almost lost my cool. Anyway.

Mom I am glad your medical stuff went well.

I did celebrate Papa's birthday with a Coke and a Smile.

So we did in fact have cambios. I got a new Companion named Hermana Mendez. She is a beast of a woman. From Guatemala. No English and she 27 years old. I am like whoa. She is a really good teacher too. I like her. She isn't here to play patty cake. Hard working woman. Keeps the work going.

So I don't think I can do skype anymore. I was going to be able to when I was in Santiago at the Robinson's. But now I don't know where a computer place is located for skype. So I guess I will be calling. When exactly am I suppose to call. I am only one hour ahead of you guys. I think. My church is from 9 to 10 my time. So I can call at night or in the Afternoon. But it depends on Brett too. I have permission to call ahead of time and make sure we have a time set up. So yeah...That's what I will be doing. So be home when I call sometime this week and have a time set up! Hermana Ward said if all else fails you can call me. My number is 6378 0631.

Funny moment. So here in Panama they wrap their hot dogs in plastic. Well one night I was frying me up some hot dogs and I started to eat one. And I was like this is a really nasty hot dog. Its sooo hard and chewy. Well I kept eating it because I was starving and I had no food. Well, then Hermana Fannin told me. Omigosh I forgot to tell you they put plastic on them! I was like what the Fetch! I straight up ate plastic on a hot dog. When I told my cook and her family they died laughing. I was laughing too but good grief! I am sure it came out by now knowing my butt.

Not much happened this week because of changes and parties and stuff. We taught alot and contacted a lot of new people. It was nice to be working a full days work. I was like this is legit! My Spanish is indeed improving. I was like what up yah! I want to talk to Brett in Spanish and see if he and I can understand each other. Brett do you have a gringo accent or a legit one. Mine is kinda like a caveman grunting sound. Muahahaha JK.

It has been rough with some of our investigators. We have the ones who want to be baptized but the permission of the parents and the husband is stopping them. I don't know what do about it. I have to get one man divorced and married to his woman sooooo his wife can get baptized. And I have to ask the parents of Krish if he can get baptized. Jessica and Krish are my top notch people and am praying for a miracle this change.

Well not much to say this week. But I am writing everything I want to say on the phone and questions I have. I need details people! I also found out my release date. and it is really not that far off. I will tell you on the phone.

well love yah lots. Miss you but not enough to come home.

Hermana Channing Jackson.

I just had an apostrophe!‏ (???)

Sup slimshaddies!

Well greetings from sunny and blasted hot David Panama. I got sunburnt on my neck the other day. But I feel good knowing I am tan and you are all white. Muahahahaha.

I did get the packages. Where is the Christmas music? It goes through the same songs over and over. Shuffles the same songs and then I will randomly hear a new one. And of course it will play Mormon Tab over and over. Grrr I really dislike them.. I want Lost in the Wilderness to play already and august rush! And I was happy to see the nexium. Whoop whoop I cant wait to give out those Christmas things to the kids.

My foot is pretty messed up right now. Swells up alot. Its the top of my foot. I think it is a stress fracture. So I am doing. R.I.C,E. Should get better soon. Changes are this week and I have a feeling I will be apart of that. Since you know Ive been training myself since day one and pushing my companions to the point of no return. muahahaha. Move it waddle butt!

BREETTTTTTTTT WHHHERE YOU AT!

Happy Birthday to Cambria this Week! May your bowels be filled with Chicken. I sent her a letter a while ago. Hope it gets there!

So this week we did alot of divisions. I love those days because me and the other hermana work really hard.

Alot of cool teaching experiences this week. The usual questions I get is Why is the Sabbath Day on Sunday? Why don't women hold the priesthood (Because we´d be too awesome) and polygamy. Ohhhh what fun. I never think about those things. Kinda of interesting. It all comes back to Jesus people.

Here in Panama. Christmas is everywhere. Wrapping paper doors, lights and everything. It is great. It kinda feels like Christmas. Also every year they paint their houses before Christmas. Ugly colors too. Bright neon green...etc...O well what ever makes them happy.

Yesterday we had John Landau´s baptism. It was sooo good. And it is genius to do it on Sunday because members are there. His Wife Julia and his 1 year old son were there. I would send pictures but this computer is not letting me. But it was seriously amazing and they want to be sealed in Salt Lake next year. They have the money to do it too. So that is awesome.

There is a little girl here named Milagros who is just adorable. Little chunk of a girl about 4 years old and has beautiful hazel eyes. She loves to touch my hair and touch my face. I was like this is sooo interesting. I was sitting down and she was moving her hands across my face and just smiled. I thought she was going to say....O there you are Pëter! It was a cool experience because they have never seen someone like me you know and we are just all Children of God....

So my companion locked the keys in the house this week and our neighbor was gone for mothers day( It is on the 8th here, huge parties, no success at teaching that day). So me and the Elders went with a hammer and chisel. There are bars on everything and iron gates before the door. We had a back door that was locked but you had to climb a fence to get to it. Well one Elder went over the fence and he wasn't doing it right. So I hiked up my skirt and climbed over the fence. This fence is taller than me and has these bars well the Elders were staring at me in shock and when I finally got over my skirt got caught. I was like whoaaaa there are going to be sooomeee Gssss showin in a minute. But I fixed it in time before I flashed everyone. hahhehe Well I got the door open. Everyone was like what the Hermana! Yes indeed....... I am not messing around.

Well not much to say this week. Just the usual teaching and preaching and studying my butt off. Love you all! Miss yah but not enough to come home!

--
Hermana Channing Jackson

Meh!‏

Whoa whoa whoa! Good grief! What on earth is going on with everyone! I knew Ashley and Will wanted to start a family but I didn't know it would be this soon. A boy! omigosh I am going to cry! What a happy day.

Poor Father. I hope he is alright. I am glad to know that the dogs are still alive and kicking.

Hope Cambria is doing better. Basketball can be fun like Brett said if you make it fun. Laugh at the losses like I did. Hehehehehehe

Brett you non-sensitive man! Rejection like my love life. Good one! I find alot of things funny now because I am non sociable and only talk about the gospel. O No the weirdness is coming! Gahhhh!

Happy Birthday to Smokey. I wrote it in my planner. What an old fart. But alas we love him and he will always be with us.

Christmas devotional was pretty good. Didn't understand anything because it was in Spanish. I thought the movie they showed was creepy. The angels scared me. I was like omigosh what on earth. The Liahonas are all good this month. I am almost done with the general conference one. I was happy to read the priesthood session ones. They need to give us talks like that in general conference. Tell us what is up and to get worthy! I really liked the Great opportunity one. I thought it was excellent for missionaries and those preparing.

Mom you would be interested to know about this psycho man who is an ex Mormon who is starting up his own church here. He is an American and creepy. In one of our areas in David he watches the missionaries and after they teach someone he goes to those people and tries to draw them away. He is taking alot of Recent Converts. He has a website you should try to find it and tell me the info. His name is John. Creepy and he is trouble for our mission.

This week was alright. Alot of canceled appointments and rejections, but it had its good moments too.

I did divisions this week. I was sooo happy because I was the Leader of my area and I took Hermana Fannin around. I could finally decide what to do and how to do it. And my day was a success. Too bad my companion doesn't let me do stuff more often. My Spanish was amazing that day and I found an area full of Menos activos who haven't seen missionaries in 12 years! I was like what the fetch. Did everyone forget about them or what. I was talking to the bishop yesterday and he said who are these people. I slapped my hand over my head and said good grief people! Grrr frustration, but hey I will make it. I know that there are people out there needing saving! My favorite part of tracting and exploring the areas is just walking around and figuring out where you are at. I get alot of contacts this way. hehehe.

We have a baptism next week and changes. I don't think I am going. But you never know with this mission.

One of our lessons was really good this week. It was with Yajaria and she has been praying and reading like crazy to know if the Book of Mormon is true. She is always so happy when we meet. She says I feel good when you are all here. Your darn right! We gotsss some truth coming your way! At the end of the lesson we asked her to pray to know if it was true. Her prayer was sooo amazing and sad at the same time. She was begging for an answer. And in that moment I had never wanted somebody to know the truth that badly before. I was to the point of crying and begging with the Lord as well. She still didn't get her answer but we will keep trying.

This week also included a lot of creepy flirty men. Geeeoooo. One I call the pee bag man. We were contacting and this old man comes out with a hose connected to his you know what and holding his pee in a bag. I was like what on earth. My companion was sooo sympathetic and I was freaking out because I didn't know they had to do that stuff. And I was also gagging because I could see his bag fill up with pee. Gahh! He said to me oooo you are so beautiful I want you ...etc..... Not in a million years buddy. Then I met the gringo from virgina. Alone and single. Calls him self the guapogringo. Pfff he is about 50 or more. He asked me out on a date and I said no. Awkward! I'm like people! I am a representative of Jesus Christ! Would you flirt with Jesus? Think about it!

Personal revelation moment. Do you remember how dad always said he had four apples and one of them is rotten. We all know who he was talking about it. Lets face it. Yes I was a rotten child teenager and adult, But! Yes sometimes there are apples that have some rotten parts, but we have the ability to cut those parts out and be just as good as the other apples. So yeah. Awkward...Moving on!

No the packages haven't came mom. They will soon I am sure.

Well hope you are all doing well. Love yah! Miss yah but not enough to come home!