"ALL IN"

May 27, 2014

My Dearest Fam and Friends!

For some reason this week has felt so long and so jam packed with so many things to do! So many people here in the mission field keep reminding me that I don't have too long left, and I know it isn't that much longer, but I just still feel like there are a lot of appointments, meetings, and things that I need to do. I don't really know how to explain it. It's kind of like during finals week at BYU when you are so close to being done but it doesn't hit you because you are so focused on that week of finals. That's the best analogy I've got! It really has been a good week though. Everyone is out of school here so that's exciting! That means all of the kids we are teaching have easier schedules and that there are more people out and about.

This week we had our mission temple trip. It was so great! I got to be there with all of my companions that are still in the mission. President and Sister Keyes focused our meeting on families and how the gospel blesses families. I have really been pondering about that a lot lately. In fact, I'm actually giving a training in district meeting tomorrow about how we can bless and strengthen our families as missionaries. I got the sweetest letter from Sister Dunn this past week and talked about the ways that she has seen my mission bless our family and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I might even be using it in my training! ;)

I also had interviews with President Keyes and it was wonderful. Half way through it he had to stop himself because he said it was sounding too much like an exit interview. It's really neat to be going home within two weeks of your mission president because we are going through the same feelings (except he's been here twice as long and is the mission president so I'm sure it's multiplied times a million). I love him and Sister Keyes so much. They have both taught me so much and I see exactly why they were suppose to be my mission president and mom. President Keyes has such a powerful testimony of the Savior and His gospel and every time he bears it, it pierces my soul. I just love them dearly!

Wednesday when we were in the temple, I saw the Gale family (this is the family that Lhaylla lived with that is from the Liberty 1st ward). They told me that if all goes as planned, Lhaylla will be getting baptized on June 15th by their son who is serving in Brazil right now. Can you believe that!! Oh, I'm so excited and happy for her!

The work is going well here. Brother Harvey's baptism date has been changed from the 7th to the 11th of June. He got a hole in one like 4 days ago and I guess when that happens you have to buy everyone a beer, so he broke the word of wisdom but he will still be getting baptized before I leave! :) We had dinner with the Iosua's on Sunday and taught Legend one of his new member lessons. This little boy remembers everything! It's the best. He's so solid and such a good kid. Can't wait for you to meet him Preston! :)

I am so so grateful for the gospel. I have no idea what I would do without it. I feel like I've been very much out of the world for the past year and a half but as I look around and see what has changed, it has made me evermore grateful for the truths that I hold dear to my heart. We live in a time where we have to be "ALL IN" as my mission president would say. In that, he means that as missionaries, we need to be all in (heart, might, mind, and strength) - dedicated to the Lord and His work. Although this phrase is used by him in talking about the work, I believe it is still so relevant and real for everyone. We need to be "ALL IN" for the Lord. We do not live in a time where we can just go day to day and let life make of us what it does, but we need to consciously be choosing the Lord in all we do. I know that this is what it means to be a member of the church and I am so grateful for my membership in His church. I love Him and know that He lives.

I love you all!! Make it a great week! XOXOX

love always:

       Sister Jorgensen

1. My ward family :)

2. P-day Adventures!

Lacey's Baptism! :)

A Funeral, A Barbeque, and A Baptism

May 20, 2014

My Dearest Fam and Friends,

Oh what a week it has been! We have been oh so busy this transfer and I love it! It helps me to stay focused and all in. This upcoming week is going to be even busier and I am so excited! Tomorrow we are going to the temple as a mission and on Friday we have interviews with President Keyes! It is going to be such a wonderful week.

This past week has been good. We have seen so many of our investigators take big steps towards baptism and we are so excited for them. We have also had a few hiccups this week with some of our investigators, but hey, that's just missionary work for you. On Thursday we got to go out to dinner with Bro. Harvey and his wife to Olive Garden! It was so much fun! We also took them through the Visitor Center through a presentation about the family. It was so good for them. Bro. Harvey is doing great and should hopefully still be getting baptized June 7th. We did teach him the Word of Wisdom last night, and to my surprise, he wasn't as familiar with it as I thought he would be. He's been married to his wife who's a member for over 20 years, and he said that she's always asked him to quit things but that he never completely put two and two together. He is all good with everything in the Word of Wisdom except for coffee and tea, which we figured. We invited him to live it and so hopefully he will be all good. Funny story, remember how I took that prom date through the VC a few weeks ago? Well, it turns out that is their grandson and he's the one that's going to baptize him! haha We pieced that together at dinner and it was so funny!

Saturday was a very busy day for us! We went to a funeral in the morning. Sister DePriest's father passed away (she's a lady that we have been working a lot with in helping her to come back to church). She asked if we would come so we did. I haven't been to a funeral in quite a while! It was really neat to be able to be there. I did a lot of pondering and reflecting as we sat through the service. The Plan of Salvation is real! It is something we teach all day everyday, but I feel like being there really helped me to solidify my testimony of this plan. Death is not the end! I am so grateful for the peace and comfort that this plan brings to us.

We also went to a barbecue on Saturday. It's a new missionary program they are trying in our ward. Each month, different families are assigned together to have some kind of activity to invite neighbors and friends to and then at the end we share a message. It went pretty good for the first try and will hopefully continue in the future. After that, we rushed over to start setting up for the baptism of Miss Lacey. Everything went so well. We were a little frazzled when 10 minutes before the program, we couldn't figure out how to print the programs and Lacey wasn't there, but after a prayer, everything seemed to work itself out. I didn't bring the right camera card today so I'll have to send pictures of the baptism next week!

Well, I love you all so so much! Hope you have such a wonderful week! I know I will! :) So excited for the temple! XOXOX

love always,

     Sister Jorgensen

How I loved seeing my family on Skype

May 13, 2014

My Dearest Fam and Friends!

It was oh so good to see your beautiful faces on Sunday on Skype! Man, do I miss your voices! I just love how even though I hadn't talked to you since Christmas, everything seemed so natural and normal! Makes me not as worried about how it will be when I come home. It was odd to Skype you guys so soon to me coming home though and I hate that I now know that I have a 3 hour lay over in Chicago and that I don't get home until 9 pm. Sad :( I feel like there isn't much to email about this week since I just talked to you, but I'll share a few things from this past week.

Last Wednesday, we went to visit Pheobe and Zoe. Not sure if I've told you about them yet ( I get confused about who I've talked about), but they are 11 and 9. Of course! haha Their great grandma is a member and they have come to church here and there. We started teaching them about two weeks ago and they are preparing to be baptized June 7th! We're not too sure that they are going to make their date, but we hope so. It's been so neat to teach them because they literally don't know anything. We spent a whole 45 minutes just talking about Christ and His life and what baptism is. It has been great! I love teaching kids! Our little Lacey gets baptized this Saturday! :) We are so excited for her! It has been so fun to see her learn and grow.

This past week it felt like I was in meetings a lot! We had a mission leadership council at the mission home and it was lovely. It feels so good to be with President and Sister Keyes in the mission home. Our theme this transfer is testimony. It was such a powerful meeting. I always love hearing President Keyes' testimony. It is so sincere and powerful. Every time he bears it, I cry! He and Sister Keyes will be leaving about two weeks after me. I've been so lucky to have them my whole mission. I really do believe that part of the reason you are assigned to a specific mission is because of the mission president. He has been exactly what I've needed!

On Saturday we got to watch Ephraim's Rescue! We do this thing at the Visitors Center called Friday Night Out. Each Friday we have a different activity going on and so this was that activity for the week. We brought two of our investigators to watch it. I was so excited because I'd never seen it before and had heard so many great things about it. It was incredible! I think I appreciated it so much because I have studied a lot about my own ancestors on the mission and tell the stories of many pioneers daily in the Visitors Center. I felt like they were with me throughout the whole movie. I especially felt the presence of the Elliker family who traveled all the way from Switzerland to Salt Lake. During their trek, the father and 3 kids died. I am in awe at the great sacrifice and faith that this family had. I love them and cannot wait to meet them one day! If you guys haven't seen that movie, you have to see it! It's so good!

Well, I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!

love always,

        Sister Jorgensen

p.s.   http://motherhood.mormon.org/?cid=HPTH050814094

          this is such a cute video!

The power that comes from fasting is real.

May 6, 2014

My Dearest Fam and Friends!!!

     I cannot get over how stinkin' adorable Aubsy looked at prom! Noah too! :) She looked BEAUTIFUL (make sure she sees this mama)! I may have teared up a little. I can't believe Baby is all grown up.

 Sometimes I forget that life has actually moved on these past 16 months. In my mind, it still hasn't registered that Ashy's on a mission, all my friends are getting married, or anything and everything else that has changed since I've left. I think I may have an overwhelming awakening when I get home and it all hits me. I feel completely at peace with everything though, I promise. The Lord has a way of calming me down and helping me to stay 100% all in for Him.

     This week has been like none other that I have had on the mission. We have literally had appointments back to back every single day this week. I've had days where that's happened, but not seven in a row. I know that this is common in some missions, but not really in ours. All I can say is that the Lord is truly blessing us. Right now we have five people who are preparing to be baptized (all on dates for before I go home too). I think some of them will for sure make their dates, but others I may just have to fly back out to see. We are seeing miracle after miracle! I've had to stop several times this week and ask myself if this is real life. It's incredible!

     I want to share the most incredible miracle of the week! It happened on Sunday. Sunday we were fasting and I felt prompted by the spirit to fast that Sister Almodovar and I would be able to teach and help two precious souls enter the waters of baptism. I've never fasted specifically for this before, but I knew that that was what I was suppose to fast for. We got to church and in our second hour, the bishop called me and my comp. out of class. He told us that he wanted us to meet someone that was in his office. We went in and met Lloyd Harvey. His wife has been a member her whole life and they have been married for over 20 years. Bishop has been their home teacher for 7 years now and he told us that Lloyd walked into his office and said that he was ready to be baptized. Can you even believe this?! So, we began teaching him yesterday with bishop and he is preparing to be baptized June 7th. Never has this happened to me, let alone probably most missionaries,  where someone just shows up and tells the bishop that he wants to get baptized. I am so grateful and feel so blessed to be able to teach Bro. Harvey. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is so intimately invested in the details of our lives. I know that there is power in prayer and fasting.

      Another blessing of the week.... Sister Rackham is back at the VC! We're together again! The Burchs came in unexpectedly on Saturday in hopes that they would catch us there and they did. It was so great to see them. Mom and Dad, they said they got the package you guys sent them and LOVED it! We talked all about the temple and how they are feeling since we didn't really have much time to talk about it when they went through. They said they loved it! John even went back last week. He also told me that he got a calling and is now the secretary for the high priests. They are so solid and I love it!

     Well, I love you all so so much! I am so grateful for your prayers, love, and support! I can feel them. Make it a great week! XOXOX

love always,

       Sister Jorgensen  

HAPPY ONE YEAR MARK TO MY ASHY!!! :)

April 29, 2014

   HAPPY ONE YEAR MARK TO MY ASHY!!! :) My word, where has the time gone?! I still remember when she got her mission call and I was eating in the MTC cafeteria bawling as I read the letter. I was so excited that we would both be out for most of our missions together and I felt connected knowing that we would both be learning Spanish. It has been the best thing to have her out with me and I'm so grateful the age changed so it could all happen!

     This week I have had some pretty fun presentations at the VC! This young couple came in all dressed up and as I was greeting them, I kept thinking in my head, "Please don't tell me you came here for Prom!". Sure enough though, I was right! haha They had some time to kill before dinner, so they came to the VC of all places. It was so awkward because I felt like I was 3rd wheeling the whole time and they were just flirting away during the presentations! I had heard other sisters talk about taking people through and on their first date, but I never thought that would happen to me. I guess I was wrong! :) I also got to take a huge group of 15 year old boys, coaches, and parents that were out here for a basketball tournament. Surprisingly, it went way better than I thought it was going to. They were so much fun! I forced them to take a picture with me at the end and then it turned out blurry. :( 

I also got to call someone during our teaching center time that's from Vegas! ( I don't really know how much I've told you guys about teaching center, but we get to do it while were on shift at the VC. We get to chat with and call people all over the world. It's pretty cool!) It just so happens that someone I got to call this week is from Vegas. He's my age and has a ton of LDS friends who are on missions right now. We didn't know any mutual friends, but it was just cool to get to talk about home with him. He said I can call him next week and teach him more about the church over the phone. How amazing would it be if he joined the church and we could all go to his baptism when I get home?!

     On Saturday, we got to go to Krishan's baptism. His mom and sister attend our ward and we are pretty close with their family. I told you a little bit about them last week because we have now started teaching Zuhair (he is Krishan's brother). Anyway, this baptism was incredible! From the moment it started, the room was filled thick with the spirit. Sister Ahmed said the opening prayer (all in Spanish because she's from Columbia) and I was just bawling through the whole prayer. She could barely say the prayer because she was crying so hard. This faithful woman has been waiting for years and years for her kids to join the church. Her husband is Muslim and wouldn't let the kids get baptized, but she has always known that they would join the church eventually. She shared with us somethings that her Patriarchal blessing says about them being leaders in the church. When she was saying her prayer, it reminded me of the story in the Book of Mormon when the angel comes to Alma the younger and says, "Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith." (Mosiah 27:14) Sister Ahmed has continued to push forward steadfastly and she is seeing these blessings come 15 years or so later. It was such a beautiful thing to be able to witness.

     All in all, Sister Almodovar and I are doing great! Transfers are this week and we are 99% sure they will keep us together again. I sure hope so! There are so many good things happening right now in the Independence 1st ward! We are truly blessed! I love you all! Have a great week! XOXOX

love always,

            Sister Jorgensen

1. I LOVE this family so much! This is Sister Ahmed (she's in our ward). Her son Krishan (behind us sticking his tongue out) got baptized! :) And, Zuhair is the one that we are teaching right now.

The Burch family goes to the temple

April 22, 2014

My Dearest Fam and Friends!

Oh what a week it has been! I have been looking forward to April 19th for quite some time and it finally came! It was such a beautiful day and everything was perfect! John and Lisa's sealing was incredible. I had never been to a live sealing before (seeing as all my friends have gotten married while I've been on the mission! ;) ) and so this was so special for many reasons. After the temple, we went across the street to the stake center where the Liberty 1st ward had put together a cute luncheon for them. It was so much fun to see everyone from my old ward. Almost everyone that I was really close to was there including Sister Rackham and Sommer. Sister Rackham even got to spend the night with me in Independence the night before and we got to be companions again for a few hours, which was so fun! I wish there were words I could use to describe to you how happy this day was. It truly was a joyful day filled with tears and laughter!

On Thursday, we had a powerful lesson with one of our new investigators, Zuhair. His mom is from Columbia and has been a member her whole life and his dad is from some where in the Middle East and is Muslim. His sister was baptized last year and his brother is getting baptized this Saturday. Slowly, all of Sister Ahmed's kids are joining the church. She is one of the most faithful members I know and has such a strong testimony. She told us that she has no doubts that one day all of her kids will be members but that it will be when the Lord feels that they are ready. Zuhair studied with missionaries last year, but he said that he wasn't ready to make the commitment to be baptized because his heart wasn't where it needed to be. The lesson we had with him was incredible. We focused a lot on faith and repentance. The spirit was so strong as we talked about the atonement. I don't know how to explain it, it was just such a great lesson. He wants to get baptized eventually, he just has a lot of personal things he is going through right now. I have no doubt that he will be baptized and we are so excited to start teaching him!

Another miracle that happened this week.....drum roll please...... Melissa and Theo finally came to church! Can you believe it?! Sisters have been working with them for about 10 months now and this is their 2nd time coming to church. This is a complete miracle! I'm hoping that they didn't come just because it was Easter Sunday and that this will become a normal thing for them now. She has been such a unique investigator. A few week ago she told us that she knows the church is true but that she didn't know if she'd ever join. I just sat there with my mouth wide open, no words coming out. She then said if she dies, she really wants us to be baptized for her in the temple. I'm trying to have love and patience with her. We are just so grateful that they finally came to church.

I am so grateful for this Easter. I have done a lot of studying the past few months, of the Savior's life and mission, from the gospels and also Jesus the Christ. I love Him and I know that He lives. I know that because of Him, we are free. I am grateful to be His representative.

love always,

      Hermana Jorgensen

Mormon = Kaw River + Liberty 1st + Independence 1st

April 15, 2014

HELLOOOO! :)

     For the record, Missouri is literally the weirdest state ever when it comes to the weather. Like two days ago it was 80 degrees and then yesterday it dropped to 30. Can you believe that?! These kind of things happen on a daily basis here. It's crazyyy!

     So, last Wednesday I went to my last zone conference. It was so so good! I was a little bit emotional though. The more that I have been away from home, the more I am finding out that I am my father's daughter. haha Not the emotional part, but in the fact that I am becoming so sentimental. At the conference, I kept thinking about how this is the last time I'm going to sing "Called to Serve" with all the missionaries, or the last time I am going to be with all my companions. As I was doing this, I kept thinking about the day we were leaving to drop me off to college. Remember that day?? I know Ashy can remember it perfectly! How dad made me say goodbye to every room in the house, and drove around to say goodbye to the park, oh and don't forget Briggs! :) Well, I have discovered that I might have a little bit of that in me too (which dad, I don't think is a bad thing at all). I even gave my departing testimony to the mission (which I don't think even seems right because I still have a transfer and a half left). But, they only do zone conferences every other transfer, so they had all the missionaries that are going home in these next two give their testimonies. It was such a blessing because all of my companions were able to be there too!

      Knowing that I was going to be giving my departing testimony, I had done a lot of pondering this past week about my mission. Boy oh boy have I learned so much as a missionary! I think one of the biggest lessons the Lord has taught me as a missionary is what my purpose is here on this Earth. Every day as missionaries we state our purpose. "Our purpose it to invite others to come unto Christ...." I don't know why I didn't realize this before the mission, but this is our purpose our entire lives. It does not change. It will not change when I come home either. Sure, the way that we go about fulfilling this purpose varies in different times in our lives, but in reality, we are here to first come unto Christ ourselves, and then to invite those around us to come unto Him. How great is our calling! I have truly come to know my Savior Jesus Christ in such a real way as I have served Him. There's a scripture in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 18:30. This is when Alma is baptizing the people at the waters of Mormon. In the verse it talks about about how all this was done in Mormon and then it says, "how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to know their Redeemer.." The land of Mormon had become holy because that is where the people of Alma had come to know and follow their Redeemer. In my scriptures, I have written... Mormon = Kaw River, Liberty 1st, and Independence 1st. These places have become so sacred to me because of the testimony I have gained of my Savior as I have been serving here. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who knew that as much as my heart desired to go to South America, that he sent me here to Independence because He knew of the people, experiences, and testimony that I needed to receive here. I love Him so much for this!

     I love you all so so much! This weekend is the Burch's happy sealing day! Pray for them! XOXOX

love always,

          Sister Jorgensen

The Burchs Are getting Sealed!!!

April 8, 2014

My Dearest Fam and Friends!!!

     I definitely second what Ashy said in her email about General Conference! I LOVED it! I was so excited all week and couldn't wait to watch it. I was reflecting on how I felt about conference before the mission and my mind was being brought back to playing bingo, trying to keep the whole family awake for just one session, and many other wonderful conference memories. Goodness, how my feelings and attentiveness towards conference has changed! I don't know why but right before the Saturday morning session started my eyes were welled up with tears because I was feeling the spirit so strong and was so full of gratitude to my Father in Heaven to have living apostles and prophets on the earth. I actually have been brought to tears about 5 or so times this week. I think I'm losing it! One time this week I cried when I got a letter from Grandma Sharon and she talked about how she made a promise with the Lord to serve Him just as diligently and whole-hearted as she did her last day of her mission as she did her first. Another time  I teared up was when I read in Pam Honey's talk that she gave me that Tonka is going to get to baptize his dad. I don't even really know him, but that is incredible! The last time I teared up this week is when Brother Burch came into the VC to tell me some exciting news.

    

     THE BURCHS ARE GETTING SEALED APRIL 19TH!!!! Can you believe it?! This is by far going to be the happiest day of my mission! I got a call from the VC saying that Bro. Burch was there to talk to me and they asked if I would like to talk to him on the phone. Right when I got on the phone, Bro. Burch began to cry. I told him I would be at the VC in 5 minutes. We ran over there and he told me the wonderful news. He was so emotional and so happy. He gave me a little update on what had been going on for the past few weeks. Two weeks ago he received the priesthood and Lisa also received a calling to serve as a Beehive advisor! They now have home and visiting teachers and they are home and visiting teachers! Isn't this the best! Bro. Burch told me it was my job to get the word out to all the missionaries that were invited. So, Sister Rackham and Sister Sommer and I will all be together with them on the 19th along with many of  the people from Liberty 1st ward that I love. It is going to be the BEST!

    

     Nothing else that happened this week can really compare to this news. We had dinner at the Iosua's on Sunday (Legend's family) and we began to teach him the new member lessons. I told him that you guys were coming out to visit in July and that we would take him out for lunch so that you could meet him. He got so excited! I told him that my little brother is 11 and now he wants to meet you Preston! When you come you will get to meet a whole bunch of 10 year olds! haha Our little friend Lacey will hopefully be getting baptized in May. She is very excited, as are we!

    

     Lately we have been working with a less active member in our ward to help her come back to church. I met her about three months ago at a doctors office and then found out that she's in our ward. It's funny how the Lord literally puts people right in your path. At that time, she wasn't ready to come back, but we went over there like 2 weeks ago and she showed such a strong desire to come back. I think it's because her dad is dying and she's beginning to focus more on the things that matter most. Her goal is the temple. She has never been. She is doing so great. She's come to church/ watched conference for the last 3 weeks and read all of first Nephi in like 2 days. It's incredible what the Lord can to with us when we have the desire to change!

    

     I know it probably isn't good to have a favorite talk, but the one that stood out to me the most was Pres. Uchtdorf's talk about gratitude. I loved that he talked about how gratitude brings healing and understanding. Lately I have been looking back at things that I have learned as a missionary and I've definitely learned the importance of having an attitude of gratitude . I know that as we look to the Lord each day with grateful hearts, whether it be in times of sunshine or rain, that our testimony of His great goodness will be seared in our souls and we will know that He lives and that He is in the details of our lives. I love Him and know that He lives.

love always,

       Hermana Jorgensen

Cute polynesian girl wearing my name tag.