Moving the work forward slowly and surely

Dearest Family,

Another hot hot week has come and gone. Nothing really new or exciting has happened--we are continuing to move the work forward slowly and surely. This week we started with a Family Home Evening with a Less Active Family: Familia Mozombite Lovera--we had the Primary President come and another member. It was a solid family home evening where we talked about the importance of family and then played some games. We received several references which was rad.

The rest of the week was spent contacting those references and visiting all of our Recent Converts. Although not many of them showed up to church we will continue to visit and evaluate!  The challenge here in Iquitos is that people say what you want them to and then they don`t show up, or they don`t follow through with the commitment. It can be sad and frustrating at times but I am learning patience and to just love people. The other challenge is that here families just don`t have problems--they have big problems. It`s hard to see so many broken families--but we know that really it`s the gospel that saves anything that is broken. Coming to Jesus Christ and having faith in him is the key.

These people are so loving. There are days when I`m just not feeling it--and then someone does or says something that just makes all the difference. It`s in these moments that I am reminded why I am here, I ask for forgiveness and then continue to do my best to have charity! Just this past week we visited a recent convert Flor and her daughter Rosita who has downs syndrome. We chatted, shared a lesson on faith in Jesus Christ and then had some Ecco before treking out in the rain. As we left I got a huge hug from Rosita--it was just what I needed. I am learning that the simple acts of kindness are the ones that make the difference!

I love you all--I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas Devotional. It was the highlight of my week. It was a little strange to see Christmas trees and such as it is currently 100 degrees and humid humid humid. Although my Christmas is going to be a little different--the message and meaning of Christmas is the same. Love you all!

XOXO

Hermana Jackson