Investigators + Ward members :)

March 18^th, 2014

My dearest Fam and Friends!!!

I'll start off by warning you that I probably won't have too much time to write this because we were in Kansas City all morning long. It was so much fun! We went to the Zoo and to an amazing barbecue place! We have the best senior couples here who always want to come with us on our pday adventures and it's so much fun! This past week has just flown on by and I can't even believe that transfers are in two days. I have no idea where this last transfer went. It's kind of scaring me how fast it's going! We have had such a great week though. The Lord is truly blessing us in the Independence 1st ward.

Last Wednesday, we had dinner with a family in our ward and asked if we could invite Melissa and Theo to come with us. They came, and it was the best thing in the world! We just had a general authority come and his focus was on getting the right members involved with our investigators so my companion and I have been trying to do that a lot more. I mean, it's always been a focus I've tried to have on the mission, but we are really cracking down on it now. The whole dinner and lesson was absolutely perfect! Melissa would ask them different questions and they were the same questions she's asked us, but it was so different when it was coming from members. It felt like we were watching her skip ten squares on the Candyland board game to get closer to her baptism day all in one hour. I have no clue if that makes any sense! haha The point I'm trying to make, is that members are the key to this work! My testimony of this was strengthened a bajillion times more from this experience.

On Sunday, we had a combined conference with the 2nd ward because they are splitting our wards and creating another ward from them. The meeting was incredible! The spirit was overflowing as we sang "The Spirit of God" at the end. It was just so cool to have so many members together! The sad thing is that we are losing a few families in our ward that will be going to the new ward. Luckily though, we won't be losing any of our investigators. That was a huge blessing!

Yesterday, my comp. and I took such a wonderful presentation at the VC. It's weird, most presentations are really nice, but I can distinctly remember a few at both the jail and the VC that I will never forget because they were so powerful! This one was one of those. We had a kid and his dad come in last night from Oklahoma. The kid is a member of the church and joined about three years ago. The rest of his family aren't members, but he and his dad were doing all the church sites because that's what he wanted to do for his last spring break before he goes on his mission. About 2 or 3 weeks ago he got his call to Taiwan. I can't even begin to describe to you how incredible our time with them was. This kid is incredible! He is the most prepared 18 year old missionary I have ever met and has such a special spirit about him. He and his dad wept through the entire presentation. He bore his testimony to us and shared his conversion story. The entire time, I was just in awe. He reminded me a lot of Daniel Edmonson. I am just so amazed at these converts who serve missions and are so strong. This was truly a testimony builder for me and my companion!

Well, life is oh so good here in Independence! It is such a blessing to be serving here and I am so grateful for this time that I have. This past week I have been re-reading all the stories you sent me mom of our ancestors, some of who were here, and it has made this place come more alive for me. I am grateful that I get to spend about 30 hours a week telling and bearing testimony of the pioneers. Their faith and sacrifice has truly been an inspiration to me as I've been out here. Boy, am I grateful for them! Well, I love you all so so much! Make it a great week! XOXOX

love always,

       Hermana Jorgensen  

1. My lovely district in front of the VC!

2. I'm kind of a creeper and ask if I can take pics with people I take on presentations if I really want to remember it. This is Blake and his dad!

Finally tracting without a coat

March 11, 2014

My dearest fam and friends!!!

I am so happy that our Ashy had a wonderful birthday! I was definitely thinking about her yesterday! Grandma, I'll be thinking about you on the 17th too! My goodness time is just speeding by! I'm kind of happy to hopefully be done with winter here. Yesterday it hit 70 and I think it's suppose to do the same today! :) I never really knew how much the weather could effect your mood. My companion and I were LOVING yesterday! Tracting was so enjoyable!

So, this week has been a little different. For two days of the week my companion and I haven't even been able to go out to our area because of VC shifts and conferences. On Wednesday I got to go to the mission leadership council with all the sister leaders and zone leaders. It was so nice to get to be at the mission home with so many good friends. I loved being able to hear trainings from President and Sister Keyes and the assistants. The only downside to going to these meetings is that then you have to give the trainings to your zone. So, on Friday, I had to give one of the assistants trainings to our zone at our zone training. It's funny that Ashy talked about the assistants being there to watch her role play this week, because that was exactly what I was terrified about. The assistants are in our zone and sometimes they stay for the trainings. Luckily they left right before I had to give mine though! haha It's so funny, I think Heavenly Father is trying to push me out of my comfort zone lately. I still am not completely comfortable or love speaking in front of large groups of people and so He's made me do it left and right on the mission - bus tours, speaking in church, and giving district and zone trainings. I do admit though, that it is getting easier and easier the more I do it, so for that I am grateful!

This week we had such a wonderful lesson with Legend. He's so cute! He is so sincere and has been waiting to be able to get baptized for 2 years now. Last time we saw him, we invited him to pray every night before he went to bed. One of the first things he said when we came was that he only missed two days. He was so excited to tell us! Later, his mom told us that about a week ago, he told her that his knees were kind of hurting from kneeling! haha I just love this kid and it's such a blessing to be able to teach him and soon see him get baptized!

We also got to see Marilyn this week. She's an older lady that we've been teaching inconsistently for the last month or so. She will hopefully be coming to church with us this week! It was so good to see her. She's so cute, she made us muffins and was so excited for us to come over. She told us that the Book of Mormon is finally starting to speak to her. She reads everything we invite her too and even takes notes every lesson. Pray for her!

Things are picking up at the VC finally! We have had the first round of spring breakers this past week! It has been so fun to be taking so many families through! It's starting to feel a little more like summer! Hopefully it will last for a little while.

Well, I love you all so so much and I am so grateful for your prayers and love! The work is moving forward here in Zion and it has been a wonderful blessing and privilege to be here witnessing it. Next week, our ward and another ward will be splitting to create a new ward! It's so exciting! That means the church is growing here! :) Isn't that exciting?! I love this work and know that it is the Lord's work!

love always,

      Hermana Jorgensen

1. Mission Leadership Council with all the sisters and Sister Keyes:)

1. Yesterday while tracting, this train got in the way a little! haha Only in Missouri!

2. Our cutie investigator, Legend (Eleanor's son), who is getting baptized on March 29th! :)

The Miracle of the Couch

March 4^th, 2014

My dearest fam and friends,

      Happy happy birthday to my Ashy! I hope you have such a wonderful day! Birthdays on the mission are so special! I can't believe you are going to be 20! My goodness!

      So, I'm just going to warn you in advanced that this email will probably be really scattered because that is kind of how my brain is right now! Sorry!

     This week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges! I went with a brand new sister to her area and I left Hermana Almodovar to take care of our area. I had really prayed to know which sister I needed to go with and I kept feeling like I needed to be with Sister Candland in her area, even though she had only been out for three weeks. In the morning we were serving at the VC until 3 and then we finally got to go out to her area. They didn't have any set appointments so we made some plans the night before to contact some potentials and former investigators. Let's just say it was freezing cold and no one was home or if they were they wouldn't let us come in. I was trying not to get discouraged, but I kept thinking inside, "Please Heavenly Father, let us see miracles together!". So, we go to dinner and after that we had about an hour and a half to work. We went to this apartment complex to contact 2 more people, and to no surprise, they weren't home either. We even had a member with us to visit them and we were starting to get bummed. As we were walking to leave the apartments, we saw a family moving in. They were trying to move a huge couch but it did not fit through the stairwell so they were attempting to stand on a truck bed and push it up to the balcony (they live on the 3rd floor). I don't know if you can picture all of this, but it was something that you would see a video of on YouTube because it was so crazy! We asked if we could help and they gladly accepted our offer. Long story short, we were there for about an hour and a half helping them move in. Our member even went home and got a ladder and rope so that we could move the couch in. Pretty much the entire apartment complex was out helping, so in that hour and a half, we taught four lessons and found three new investigators! It was such a miracle and answer to our prayers! Who would have thought that helping to move a couch would allow us to find three new investigators! Service softens hearts! Sister Candland and I drove home completely filled with gratitude for the miracle we had witnessed and for our Heavenly Father's goodness.

     This whole week I could not wait for Friday to come. We have something called Friday Night Out at the VC where we hold different events and this week Brother Kesler came! I don't know if you guys remember him, but he was one of my ward mission leaders in Liberty and I absolutely adore his family! He's a hallmark artist, so he came and did a presentation. It was seriously the best night ever! Pretty much almost every single one of my top five fav. fams in the Liberty 1st Ward came! I was oh so happy!

     So, last night we had another lesson with Fata (the guy from Samoa whose wife is a member). It was so so good! We talked about the plan of salvation and they opened up to us about how they lost their 2 year old little boy in a tsunami a few years ago. :( I really think things are starting to click for Fata. Every time we come, he always loves it but then at the end says that he has his own faith. Let's just say he's a wee bit stubborn, but that's my speciality. We truly saw the spirit working with him last night. It's so cool to share the plan of salvation using some scriptures in the Bible to show that the doctrine is there too. He loved that and it kind of took him off guard. Pray for this family! They are so sweet!

      I want all of you to know that I am happy and well! I have experienced no greater joy than being out here serving the Lord. I know that the message that we share is true and comes from our loving Heavenly Father. I know that it can bless and change lives. Following the plan that God has for us is the only way to find pure joy in this life. This I know to be true! I love you all!

love always,

       Hermana Jorgensen

1. Don't you love this?!

2. The miracle of the couch! I just talked to the sisters and they went to visit them last night and they are now on date to be baptized March 29th! Isn't that incredible!

3. Part of my heart will forever be in Liberty.

Lexi got baptized!

February 25, 2014

My dearest fam and friends,

     So many good things happen this week! Lexi got baptized on Saturday! :) It has been so much fun getting to teach her. Getting to hear her sweet prayers and having her recap the lessons for us were always the best. She retold the Joseph Smith story to us once and said that the three wise-men appeared to Joseph Smith! My companion and I looked at each other and tried our hardest to not start laughing. Out of the mouth of babes!

     We finally got to start teaching Legend (Eleanor's son) this past weekend. We can only teach him every other weekend, so every time he's here, we teach him on both Saturday and Sunday. Oh my word, he is the cutest, sweetest boy! Like, I think I might have a tiny crush on him! haha Don't worry though he's 10! His personality kind of reminds me of Preston because he is so sincere and sweet. He asks the best questions too! We already are so excited to be teaching him. And guess what, he's getting baptized on March 29th! Yay, to teaching children! I guess that's my new calling!

     We were also blessed this week with two solid investigators! One, is a guy from Samoa named Fata. His wife is a less active member and he knows a lot of members in our ward because he fire dances with them. He definitely has a lot of hang ups, one being the Book of Mormon, but he's willing to listen. Last week, we introduced the Book of Mormon to him and had him read in 2 Nephi 33:10 that talks about how the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ. He read it out loud to us in Samoan and said that he loved that verse. The spirit was very strong even though we couldn't understand a word he said. That's something I love about the spirit, it surpasses all language barriers!

     Another new investigator that we started teaching this week is from Hondurus. You know what that means, she pretty much only speaks espanol! Her name is Orquidia! We met her last Wednesday and just had a lesson with her yesterday. It went really well! We took a recent convert in our ward who speaks spanish and english and she helped us out. Orquidia had read the pamphlet we gave her and is excited to start reading the Book of Mormon. We are going to be meeting with her next week! She's so cool and were so excited to be teaching in spanish!

     Last cool story of the week! Last night I took a lady named Sarah (who's a member) and her friend Stephanie (who isn't a member) through the VC. I got to teach Stephanie all about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. It was a neat experience! The coolest part about the whole thing though, was getting to hear Sarah's conversion story. She joined the church three years ago. She told us about how she was in New York trying out for the Book of Mormon Musical on Broadway and asked her friend who's a member if she could send her a copy just so Sarah could see what the book was about. Sarah's friends told her she would send her one only if she would pray about it and read her favorite scripture she marked. So, Sarah said she would and she did exactly that. She told me that when she read that verse, she was overcome with the spirit and knew it was true. She said she didn't end up trying out and joined the church instead. How cool is that! The Book of Mormon Musical is helping bring souls to Christ! Take that Satan! haha

     As you can see, it's been a good, full week with many miracles. Something I've learned on the mission, is that God sends us little tender mercies each day, but it's our choice whether to recognize them or not. I have been such a happier missionary and person, as I've tried to see God's hand and the many tender mercies that He sends my way! I love you all so much! Keep choosing the right and make it a great week! XOXOX

love always,

        Hermana Jorgensen

1. Our sweet little Lexi got baptized on Saturday! :)

2. All of the VC sisters this morning! We had a pancake breakfast together at the Brenchley's (our vc director)!

1. Reminded me of our Ashy!

2. This sweetheart and her parents came into the VC and I jumped up to take their presentation! She is only like the 3rd or 4th person I've seen that has Down syndrome while on the mission. The first time I saw a little girl with Down syndrome, I started to cry! Pathetic, I know! This time through, I held it together! She was the coolest person! She told me all about special Olympics. She was a really good figure skater and went all around the country to compete and won two gold medals! How cool is that! It was seriously the highlight of my whole day to take them through! Reminded me of baby!

Abs is engaged and I'm so happy

February 18,2014

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I cannot get over the news that my Abby is ENGAGED!!! Totally always thought I'd be there in person for things like this (kind of like when Ana and Lexie got engaged and married too haha), but even a million miles away, I am so so happy for her! I seriously can't stop smiling. People are probably looking at me here thinking I'm crazy because I've had a perma-grin on my face for the past hour here! haha CONGRATS ABS! :) I'm so very excited and happy for you!

Well, this week has been great! A little less stressful than last! It seems that the first week of transfers and training is always a little stressful and tiring. I think were finally starting to get into the groove of things though. Weeks just seem to keep flying by here. People weren't kidding when they said you're last six months just fly on by! Sometimes it makes have mini anxiety attacks! haha But, I know it's just a part of life!

Independence 1st ward is the best! So much diversity! Definitely not anywhere near Ashy's wards, but I just never thought that in the middle of the country, I would be in Spanish and Polynesian wards. Can I just tell you that I love these people! They are the nicest people you will ever meet and carry with them such an incredible spirit! Every sacrament meeting has such a strong spirit. I have truly been blessed to serve in the areas that I have and I'm so grateful!

I've decided maybe my calling is to help teenage girls (Mercedes, Lhaylla, Karen) and little kids (Lexi, Legend, Theo) learn about Christ and His gospel and help them prepare to make the covenant of baptism with Him! I seriously feel like all we are teaching are kids, but I'm not complaining. I love it! They have such a pure faith in Christ and I can truly see why Christ has instructed us to become as a little child.

The miracle of this week is that THEO IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!! I hope I've mentioned Melissa and Theo before. The sisters were teaching them long before I got here. I think they started teaching them last June or something. Anyway, Melissa is the mom and Theo is the smartest 10 year old boy I have ever met! They are so special and have such a strong faith in the restoration of Christ's church. (Melissa is the lady who called us crying one morning because she found out how Joseph Smith died. Do you remember me telling that story?) They have had a lot of hold ups along the way, or should I say Melissa has, but Theo this whole time has been begging his mom to be baptized and go to church. Melissa told us on Sunday that she doesn't want Theo to have to wait to be baptized until she can quit smoking and that she thinks it's his time. So, Theo will be getting baptized next month! :) We haven't picked an exact day yet because Melissa wants her family from out of town to come in, but we are going to finalize a day sometime this week. How exciting is this!!

Last Thursday was such a happy day too! We had Zone Conference and Elder Martino of the seventy came. It was such a powerful conference and I came away feeling so renewed and ready to finish strong! The biggest blessing of that day though, was that every single companion that is still in the mission that I have had was there! Even better, Liberty 1st ward was serving us lunch! Meaning that the McDonald's and the Burchs were there! :) It was the BEST! We were all together in the stake building that's right next to the temple! The Burchs got to tell Sister Rackham in person about them being sealed in the temple in April! :) Oh happy day! Life doesn't get much better than this!

I love this work! It is so fulfilling and so real! I am so grateful for every companion I've had and every area I have served in. The Lord really knows what He's doing and I know I have been exactly where He's needed me at the exact time! I love you guys all so much and I'm so grateful for you love and support! Make it a great week and share the gospel! :)

love always,

     Hermana Jorgensen

1. Me and my posterity! ;) Aren't they precious!

2. the Burchs, Sis. Rackham, me, and Sis. Sommer :)

I have a new companion straight from the MTC

February 11,2014

Dearest fam and friends,

Oh what a week it has been! It has felt unusually long, but I guess that's normal on transfer weeks. I got a new companion straight from the MTC! And guess what?! She speaks Spanish (or should I say she's been called Spanish speaking and is learning it). Yay! I finally have a spanish companion to do language study with! I haven't had that since pretty much my first transfer. My new comp's name is Hermana Almodovar. She's from San Diego. 

So, this weather has been so so cold for us! We got about 10 inches of snow this week and when we got in our car today, it said that it's 3 degrees! It was kind of funny, one day this week it was 30 degrees, and I was in HEAVEN! Can you believe it?! Now, I'm thinking that's nice weather. I think I'm finally getting some what use to this cold.

Well, let's see....crazy/funny story for last week! A man named Thomas came into the VC last week. I greeted him and he told me he had died and been resurrected and that on February 14th he was going to die again because two years ago on that day, he had taken poison and that's the day it's going to kick in. He also told me that his mission is to free those that are held captive in Kolob after he dies this week. Kind of a crazy character and definitely not mentally stable! Anyway, he ends up being kicked out of the VC and on his way out is yelling all these "prophecies". Even though he got kicked out and told not to come again, he came back every single day this week. These are the kind of special characters you find here in Independence! Don't worry though, we're safe. That's what our senior couples are for. :)

Miracle of the week......we get to teach Eleanor's little boy, Legend! I don't know if you guys remember Eleanor, but she's the one that we were trying to work with in Liberty for 6 months who's less active. When we first started working with her she told us she had a 10 year old boy who was begging to get baptized.  The whole time I was there we were trying to find ways we could get to teach him but it never worked out because he lives with his dad and she only gets him on every other weekend and the weekends she does get him, they spend it all in Independence. Long story short, he comes to our ward here in Independence because this is where her parents live and we got permission from the bishop to teach him. We met him on Sunday and he is the cutest little boy! I'm so so excited to get to start teaching him! He'll probably be getting baptized sometime in March since we can only teach him every other weekend. I really felt strongly when I was in Liberty that we were suppose to teach him and now we finally get to! Never in the way or where I thought, but the Lord has provided a way!

Overall, all is going well in the Inde 1st ward! I have been so exhausted both physically and spiritually these past few day. I forgot how much training takes the life out of you! I have truly felt the Lord strengthening and helping me though! My testimony of the enabling power of the atonement has been significantly strengthened this past transfer or so. I know that it is through His grace and strength that I have been able to serve thus far and that I will continue to serve. I love this gospel and know that it is true. I am grateful to know that truth will stand still in this ever-changing world. I love you all! Have a wonderful week! :)

love always,

       Hermana Jorgensen

1. My new comp. and I :)

2. They call these generation pics in the mission. I trained Sister Sommer and now she's training a new missionary and then now I'm training Hermana Almodovar. All we are missing is Sister Wuebkes and Rackham.