Busy Couple of Weeks

Hi everyone! Sorry I was not able to write last week, things got really crazy and time just ran out. But I hope that I will be able to make up for it if not with the stories, then with the pictures and videos if I can get them to send. lets see... this last week was the 4th of July. Hopefully everyone was safe and you also had a blast. We weren't given a time to go in on the 4th and so we stayed out till 9. We just went by members which was a good and bad idea. Good because unlike other people, they will happily take you in and are so nice to you. Bad because every single time you get offered food. And I don't like to say no but I finally said no I am really full. Trust me. But we ended the night at the ward mission leaders house with his awesome family! We just sat and talked with everyone and got to know them better! It was super good. They pulled out fireworks at 8:50 so we got a little 10 minute firework show. Then we went home. Our apartment is about 10 miles outside of Fabens and you drive through all of these orchards and fields (its still ugly and desert) but it was so cool to see fireworks in every single direction that you looked. I love the fourth!

Every Wednesday we go and do service at a local food bank. They receive food donations and then we help them sort it. And so that has been fun to go and do with the whole zone. Then after we always go to lunch. We got done with lunch and I was getting ready to back up my companion so we could go home and change right as this drunk guy walks up. I knew we were going to be there a minute when the first thing he said was, "prove to me you aren't racist and give me a ride." Haha the one thing we can't do. So I am trying to explain to this drunk guy that no we can't give rides in our car but hey we would love to walk with you wherever you need to go. But then totally forgets about the ride and starts talking about the spiritual battle we are in and that the times are coming near. And this guy is just crazy drunk, he walked over with a ice tea bottle full of beer. Drank it all right in front of us. So then he goes from spiritual battle to how we are going to have a zombie apocolypse. So at this point he is acting out the zombie apocolypse. Acting like the zombie and the person shooting the zombie. Anyone that is walking by is just probably thinking we are crazy. At this point it has been 25 minutes and I knew that if we wanted to get rid of him we had to get away from the truck. And so I say to him , "Lets take a walk." So then we walk and for some reason he asks our age. So we tell him oh we are 19. He like freaked out and kept saying stuff like, I promise I didn't know you were that young and I didn't do anything to you. And I am not liiking to do anything. And I'm just laughing inside because yeah me too. So I finally told him we needed to go because we had stuff to do. And he says to my companion, "I don't really like you." Then turns to me, "I like you but not in a police kind of way, like a sould kind of way." uhhh did I just hear that right?! I know I did because this whole converstion was in english. I told him he should really go and then he stumbbled off. Super weird but funny experience. 

Another kinda funny story, yesterday we ate dinner with the Delgado family. We eat with them every Sunday and so we have gotten to know them really well. They have dinner with EVERYONE in their family on Sundays. Me and Elder Craven were just eating and we look over and pulled out the bubble balls. You know the balls that you get into and run into people. It got me way pumped but I kept thinking you can't do it you are a missionary. So I just kept talking with people. Well all the sudden I hear someone yell, "Elder Jackson get over here." Aye noooo I don't want to. But they convinced me to go. I was just going to do enough to make it look real cause I am not looking to hurt someone. But before we went, they say, "Elder Jackson..... NO MERCY!!" I was like okay they want a show. So everyone has their cameras out and you hear ONE, TWO, THREE, GO! And we just run. And there was like three different people that wanted to go up against me. One of which was my companion. Pobrecito. But it was funny and I will try and send some of the videos from it if I can. Videos didn't work last time I triend to send them. But it was so fun!!

Elpdio, is someone we had on date for this past week but he didn't pass his interview and so we were going to have his interview Saturday afternoon with President (this would've been the first time to meet President Weathersby) but Elpidio canceled. So sadly I did not get to meet President but even sadder, Elpidio hasn't had his interview yet. We are hoping that Tuesday he can have his interview. He is so ready and I know the interview will go good we just need to have it! But Denzel got baptized! He turns nine in August and so the baptism didn't count as ours. But we were able to go and teach him over the last two weeks and its been so fun. When he came to the church before his baptism he ran up and gave me a big hug. And then when we took a picture right before he was baptized, he hugged me and then we took the picture. He is such a cute kid!!

With all of the fun stories, I was eating dinner this week and I had a thought come to mind. And I absolutely love this thought and so I want to share it. God loves us so much. And He will never put us throuth something that he knows we can't handle. But with that said, sometimes he lets you do it on your own because he knows that is how you will grow the most. It is like a chick who is hatching. It can be hard to see them struggle to get out of the shell, but if you help them, they don't develop the strength they need to survive and will die. Same idea. God is there to help us, but he also lets us struggle on our own knowing that we will come out stonger in the end. Thank you for all of the continuos love and support. I am grateful for everyone in my life. I hope you all have a great week! (ps. the pictures are random but I hope you enjoy them!!)