thank you!!!!!!!!!

My dearest loves,

First of all let me just say thank you. Thank you for all the e-mails and letters and packages of love that have come my way in the last week. My first week was pretty rough emotionally. There was a lot of fear, family missing, doubt, panic etc. that was just really overwhelming my first week. On my last p-day I think my day began with crying and ended with crying, with prayers and sobbing all in between. The only times I wasn’t crying was when I told my companion we needed to stop at Chik fil a for lunch, when I took a nap for 2 hours because i was so exhausted from crying and when we went over to our bishop’s house for a blessing that night. Thank you for responding to my frantic e-mails and for all the comfort that I felt from you. Daddy, that talk you (Brad Wilcox – grace talk) sent me was inspired. I printed it out, not really knowing what it was about and read it at home. I cried while I read it, but the good kind of crying. It was perfect daddy, thank you so much for sending that to me. I especially loved the end part where it says ‘God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus’s grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. Don’t quit. Keep trying. Don’t look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and His perfect strength. Don’t search for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ, and as you do, you will feel the enabling power and divine help we call His amazing grace.’ WOWZERZ. Daddy it was an answer to my prayers. i now keep the copy of it in my notebook that i take with me everywhere when i need help. EVERYONE READ IT 🙂 I also read another amazing talk this week. Elder’s Holland’s talk from the last session of conference about believing is incredible. kick booty incredible. that one really helped me a lot. i think the ending is something like, ‘hope on, journey on, all is possible if we believe’.

I make lists during the week of things I want to remember to share with you all and so here is me spilling everything on that list so this probably won’t sound like an eloquent novel 🙂

1) I’m driving a car! My companion, Sister Parker, doesn’t have a license and so I’ve been driving around Florence, Kentucky, trying to get to know the area. I love driving out in the country parts because the corn fields and barns and trees out there are so so pretty. P.s Mom or Morgen or whoever was going to send the driving record, would you be able to send that soon please, I need to give that to the mission office. Oh maybe you could just send it there. I will send you the address.

2) MOM THANK YOU FOR THE MINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO ME!!!!!!! Sorry I didnt tell you that I had received them. Thank you so much for being so thoughtful. Also mama, thank you for the Ezekial cereal!!!! I was so excited when I opened the box 🙂 THe cereal is taking effect if you know what I mean 😉

3) i think i teared up when I opened up the Jeni’s ice cream…I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SENT ME JENI’S ICE CREAM – mommy and daddy, you definitely know how to mend my heart. that made me soooo happy. i now save it for- i’m feel discouraged occasions. thank you seriously, for taking such good care of me.

4) mommy i wear my sunflower necklace every day and always think of you when i hold it, it puts a smile on my face

5) I love my language study that I get everyday. I have an hour to study Portuguese and for the first 20 minutes I just read the Portuguese BOM and I love it!!!! Seriously, i’ve fallen in love with Portuguese and I’m so excited to get there eventually. I love to study out on our apartment’s balcony because I can feel the breeze and look out at trees and it’s my happy place

6) morgy, we live really close to the cincinnati airport and so i always see planes flying 50 times a day. i look up and smile and think of you! i know that that will be me someday, getting to fly to brazil

7) Daddy, we like to bake cookies for our investigators and I shared your wisdom of reusing parchment paper with my companion 🙂 i love you

8) also daddy we get to run every morning and it makes me miss you really bad and wish i had been a better running buddy to you. but for now im in practice to be the best running partner for you when i get back 🙂

9) mommy, my shoes are all working out great!!!! the clarks are super comfortable and those little toe sock things are perfect, not one blister yet 🙂

10) i’m putting my love of dogs to good use and go up to anyone walking their dog and its a great conversation starter

11) lissy, thank you soooooooo much for your card, really, it meant the world to me. thank you for telling me what you did, it gave me strength

12) where do george and pat thompson live, don’t they live in kentucky, wouldnt’ that be funny if i was enar them

13) mommy im so happy to hear that you are reading preach my gospel!!!!!! i read it everyday and even in portuguese too!!!

We have about 10 investigators right now. All with a lot of life issues: divorce, word of wisdom issues, family with drug problems etc. Getting to know these people makes me appreciate the amazing home that I came from. I am so grateful for the tender love and nourishing home that I was raised in. Thank you.. We have one person on date for baptism. our 9 year old girl Maddie who is gonig to be the last person in her family to be baptised to make them whole. She is getting baptised this saturday and we are soooooo excited. we are also teaching tristan who came to church for the first time this past sunday.

he introduced us to a family across from his house with 4 boys. all the boys wanted books of mormon and pass along cards and wanted to come to church that very day. it was awesome!!!!!!!! they and their step mom are hopefully coming to church this sunday.

I love you all. there is so much more i wish i could write but im out of time. i love with all my heart  and pray for you all the time. im going to try to write letters today. thank yuo so much for loving me and helping me. really, thank you. i’m coming to love the people here. this is hard, really hard, but I know that I’m not alone. My struggles have brought me to my knees and brought me closer to my Savior. I love you. I love you. I love you.

Fear not, only believe.

With love,

Sister Mariah Jackson