Dear Family,
This week was great. It was Elder Blackner's last week in the mission too! 2nd companion that I've sent home in a row - honestly, it is quite hard to keep focused and work hard when you have 2 companions leave for home consecutively! I got a call from Presdient Millar - I'm called to train a brand new Zone Leader! His name is Elder Hare, he's from Richfield, Utah (Yes, ANOTHER Utah companion! But I work the best with them!) He was in my district in Peckham, so he went from being Peckham District Leader to the new Wandsworth ZL! So, that's super exciting! He is a great guy and a super hard worker! We are going to destroy it this next couple transfers together. By the end of it, I'll have been in Peckham for 9 months and perhaps more!! So long, but I am grateful for it. I have learned so much here in London, and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else! Training a new ZL though is apparently one of the hardest positions in the mission! But I can easily manage :)
This week went a bit slower. A lot of people cancelled their appointments with us, so that was a drag, but we were still able to get 5 new baptismal dates, and we have a lot of new people in our teaching pool! This week, we finally taught our new investigator I found on a bus named Arlette - she is from Cameroon, and is pretty golden! She is very very nice. Also, we are teaching this man named Seth, a Ghanaian, and we teach him in this place called 'Kumasi Market' a busy busy Ghanaian shop which sells crazy foods and crazy Pentecostal music blasts there - and we teach him in his office upstairs in this African salon. It's a crazy place to teach, but he is super nice.
We are lately having a problem teaching people who are really indoctrinated - VERY Pentecostal and stuck in their beliefs. So we have a TON of cool people we are working with - just it will take some time to teach them all and sort it all out. No worries!!
Did a lot of ministering for our zone. We helped the sisters in Peckham build a wardrobe that took nearly 3 hours!! It was tough! But it felt nice to help.
I've seen a lot of wild things out here this week. The cold is making people sad and depressed. On the bus two days ago, I sat next to a Jamaican who was talking to himself and had a dull shard of wood and he was stabbing himself on his arm and legs and head with it really really hard. It was quite scary. Seen a lot of fights in the streets and drunk people too - its sad to see people like this. That's why they need to gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes, as a person/missionary I feel worthless, useless, like I have done no good. Some days are rougher than others. But there are many many more moments and days where I look back on the good I have accomplished. I have helped to change people's lives. I wish I could help everyone I meet. I want to baptise the world so badly, it pains me!! I want to do more than I can always - but I am reminded of Alma's experience when he wanted to be an angel to go and fly around and proclaim the gospel to everyone, but he was rebuked by the Spirit- You do what you can, and do the very best you can.
I have changed so much. I am grateful for my mission so much. And though sometimes there may be hard days, those are the days also where I learn to rely more on my Saviour Jesus Christ.
I hope you all know that I have a testimony. This gospel changed lives, I have seen it firsthand. I love serving so much. I am excited for these next couple of transfers. It will be challenging, but I know I can do hard things!
I love you all so much,
Elder Jackman
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