Weeks 5 and 6

 We are loving Ohio! It is so green and beautiful - (and humid - but I think I am getting used to it.) One thing I had to check off my list when I got here was find somebody to cut my hair. When I mentioned this to the Institute Director, he immediately said, "My wife will do it!" So, on out last P-day we went to their house, I got my hair cut, (she is great!), and then we walked out their back door and down a lane to see our first covered bridge in Ohio. (We found out they covered their bridges to protect the wood from the elements.)

To my delight I rediscovered that some of my ancestors were early pioneers in central Ohio. They settled in Monroe and then Knox, county in the early 1800's. We went to Bird Cemetery where my fourth great grandfather, Abraham Jackson, was buried.

At church I sat by a young woman in Relief Society who also had ancestors who settled in the central Ohio area. We opened our family search app and sure enough, we are cousins through Abraham Jackson. She said that if you have ancestors from Central Ohio, you will be related to most people who originated from that area. So, during the day I found several people in the two Young Adult wards who were related to me. My second great grandfather, Jesse Taylor Jackson, joined the church here in Ohio shortly after the church was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and followed the Latter-day Saints to Utah. The rest of his Jackson relatives stayed here.  

This past Wednesday night we held an "intra-institute" class. (We begin the full schedule of institute classes the end of this month.) This is the Facebook post inviting the Young Adults to attend. 

We love the Young Adults, and we enjoy spending out days here at the institute! We are one block from The Ohio State University and the campus has really gotten busy this past week. You can feel the excitement in the air as classes begin tomorrow! Right now, there are about 30 YA's in the next room having a game night for Family Home Evening. 

We have "set up shop" in our office and look forward to our daily study time. But what we love the most is being available to the students and the missionaries who serve here on campus. We have candy bowls to "entice" them to come in and visit. Below is a picture of the adorable sister missionaries we get to see on an almost daily basis. We participate with the OSU missionaries in a weekly district council meeting and with the entire mission in a weekly Sunday night devotional held on Zoom. Every day is an adventure as we never know who is going to walk into the building!

As you can tell we have bundled two weeks together. We have been very busy with the youth, the members, and the missionaries. We especially enjoy and love our Sabbath day schedule attending two wards and our weekly missionary devotional. This last week's devotional we had one of the stake patriarchs speak. What stood out in his message to us is that Satan is bent on destroying anyone who might have a testimony today. In D&C 10:33 the Lord lays it out clearly: "Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation." But we can testify that these youth and missionaries that we have today are the very elect, held back to counter the adversary. They are powerful, have authority, and are armed with truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The work here is moving forward at a very rapid pace. Many are committing to and being baptized every week. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We invite you to open your mouth, share your life with anyone and everyone you meet. People are hungry for truth. You have it. Spread it around.