Mystery Meat

If I had a dollar for every time a half-naked man opens the door, I would be a rich woman... Also I have a small tip for everyone: If someone tells you dinner will be "pure Mexican" stay away. One of our less actives fed us what I thought was chicken. 'Twas not chicken. Also the consequences were not pretty. You're welcome for that mental image :) 

     

R (recent convert) told us that her cat that just had kittens hid them somewhere in the neighborhood. We were searching all week! She told us to try her brother a few doors down. We actually have been wanting to teach him for awhile. We knocked on his door and asked if the kittens were there. It was a perfect way to get into his house! We're getting so creepy... Anyway, he told us we could go look in his backyard. Oh I forgot to mention he was in a robe so that was red flag #1. Also there is a really creepy shed back there. Well long story short we weren't killed and the kittens weren't there. Then when we were leaving he told us we are weird. Ha. So the next day we went back to R's house and the cat was taking all of the kittens one-by-one in her mouth into a hole in the wall under the tub. They spent all night getting them out. They are so cute. Hermana F said I can't take one back to our apartment though...

     

So we were heading to the freaking boonies the other day and I accidently turned onto a toll road and it took a picture of me! I'm still freaking out. I'm still quite confused and a little nervous for interviews on Wednesday with the mission president. So after all of that we finally got to the sketchiest trailer park I've ever been to. I almost got rabies from a dog that attacked us and I'm pretty sure I have West Nile Virus. I have so many mosquito bites. 

     

We had two reactivations this week! The L L's! They are Asian but were both born in Venezuela. Don't ask me how that all worked out. They kind of scare me but I love them. They are so humble and so willing to do anything for others. They even invited their neighbor to church. We're going to start teaching her this week! She is also Asian/Hispanic. How does that happen to 3 people? We are expecting la familia Hernandez to be reactivated soon as well! They are doing family home evening every week now, attending church, and reading their scriptures. They are famous in the ward for having a "monton de ninos" (mountain/ a ton of kids). 

     

Our friend from English class came to church again! After the service he asked me for a Libro de Mormon. He ended up giving it to his god-son. He got into a little bit of trouble this weekend and so J wanted to read it with him. What the heck?! These people are better missionaries than we are! The Book of Mormon and the message of the Restoration CHANGE LIVES.  For reals. I see it every single day. There are so many promises with the Book of Mormon, the words of the First Vision, etc. And I have seen miracles because of those promises. I love this work and I love to see lives change. It's everything to me. God and Christ live.

      

I just want to end with some "homework." Read Alma 56 and relate it to putting your trust and faith in God NOT in men. This is when miracles happen. #stripplingwarriors

     

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/56?lang=eng

                                           McKenna's obsession with cats has gotten worse

Creepers Gonna Creep

Buenos Tardes,

So we were on our way to church the other day and in the median in the middle of the road there was an old man and woman. They were fully decked out in khaki safari clothing and had binoculars. Yes they were bird watching in the middle of the road. It's fine. 

Also Hermana F and I went to Waffle House at 5 pm on Thursday... So many sketchy people eating waffles... It rained almost everyday this week. Literal cats and dogs were falling from the sky. I accidently parked kind of far away from the curb and Hermana F was trying to avoid the small river running through the gutter and she slipped and fell on the car... oops. She laughed though so I don't think she was mad... We wash our car each week down the road from our apartment every Pday. We have made friends with the African American man with a tear drop tattoo below his right eye. He's very nice. Oh also Hermana F (NONE of the Hispanics can say her name) has three new admirers. One at the bakery down the road where we put up English class posters, one at a potential investigator's door, and one guy from our English class. They're interesting men...

     

Everything is good with Y and her crazy husband. The situation has calmed down quite a bit and she's officially out of the apartment. We were helping her move the other day with the elders. She doesn't have a car and the mattresses wouldn't fit in our's so us and the elders carried the mattresses from her complex to her sister-in-law's. That was probably an odd sight. SHE GOT HER TEMPLE RECOMMEND! We're going to go and do baptisms for the dead before this transfer is over! R is going to get her's this month as well:) p.s her husband stopped doing drugs! Her daughter was just baptized on Saturday! I is the greatest! The baptism started an hour late because Y's ride bailed, but it all worked out. The confirmation was so cool. It's interesting to hear all of the ordinances done in Spanish. 

     

Yesterday morning we went over to a recent convert/less active's house. This is the family that the wife left last week but now she's back! They have a billion children and haven't been coming to church for 2 or 3 months. We went over before church and rang the door bell about 3 times, knocked on the door for awhile, and called their phones twice. Probably super annoying but they finally answered the door! We helped all the kids get ready and do their hair. We were kind of afraid what Hermano H would say but he was so grateful. He kept on saying how thankful he was that we came and woke them up. We sat next to them during sacrament meeting :) That was definitely the happiest moment I've had so far on my mission. I could feel how happy they were to be back. I felt just a tiny glimpse of the Lord's love for us. 

     

Well it's already been 3 months since I left good old Arizona. I am gaining an eternal perspective that I have never had before. I began reading the Old Testament this week. Many of the sins and weaknesses that they struggle with then, we still struggle with now. As I've seen others struggle, I have realized how accesible the Atonement is. We just don't realize it. God loves us so much that He watched his son suffer. He was without sin, yet He suffered for us. God loves you. Christ loves you. They are all that matter. Nothing else matters. The Atonement is infinite. It covered the sins of those thousands of years ago, and still covers our sins today. Take it all to the Lord. Trust in Him. 

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

I should be getting my PhD in therapy sometime this week

So we were eating with an investigator and her husband yesterday. He was sipping away at his 5th Bud Light. We were going to say a prayer and he didn't know what to do with his beer so he put it underneath the table on the ground. Ha! I just thought it was funny. 

     

We have a less active/recent convert family in our ward that we have been working with. They have 6 kids and a lot of marriage problems. Last month she took all the kids and "ran away." She barely just got back about a week ago so we stopped by to see how everything was going. She said that everything was fine with their kids and with their marriage. We set an appointment for the next week and were on our way. This past Thursday we went over for our appointment but no one was home. As we were leaving we saw the husband in his car crying. We went to see what was going on and he said she took the kids again. Immediately I asked him if we could pray with him. I knew those words were not my own. Sometimes it's kind of scary helping other people with their lives because I don't want to say the wrong thing. I'm young too so I don't want them to be offended because I haven't had these kinds of problems yet. BUT the Spirit always knows what needs to be said. The Spirit is the true comforter. 

     

My life is a soap opera I decided: Okay so we went to Y's (recent convert) house Saturday night and helped her daughter "I" with the baptismal interview questions. Her baptism is this weekend :) We left a few minutes before 9 and went home. The next day at church Y had bruises on her arms. We talked to her and the night before, just 30 minutes after we left, her soon to be ex husband came over. He's not living there right now because he has a pregnant girlfriend. Long story short, he got mad at Y because she has a friend that has been helping her while he has been off with his girlfriend. He damaged Y's friend's car, tried to pull a knife on him, and beat him up. Y moved in with her sister that night. The next day, he showed up at the church and try to take the kids. Please pray for her. 

     

After all of that we had a miracle! We got Y, V, and N (they're all sisters-in-law) to the temple tours. One is a less-active member, one is a convert, and one is not a member. V (less-active) explained everything to them and was so excited! Hopefully she will reactivate soon. 

     

It's been quite a week but we're seeing miracles everyday! The church is true.

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

                                                    McKenna did not kill this squirrel

Feliz Pasqua!

Happy Semana Santa! 

    

This week was a whole lot of explaining what Mormons believe about Easter. A LOT. Hispanics get really into Semana Santa. A ton of the stuff they do is actually super cool. They get their feet washed, don't eat red meat, but also they crucify someone. For reals. It doesn't happen very often here but it's a big thing in Mexico. We had to explain why we don't do that I think 15 times. One cute thing that the kids do is break these paper eggs with confetti inside on people's heads. They think it's funny to hit us in the head with plastic ones. 

     

We had so many lessons with less active members this week. These are actually my favorite :) We went over to one of our less active family's house like three times this week but every lesson was so good. I can't remember if I've explained their situation before but the mom and daughter are active and the three teenage boys are not. We went over the day before conference and A said his favorite part is when the prophet speaks because it feels like God is talking right to him. WHAT THE HECK? It was freaking awesome. He's never said anything like that to us before. Last night we went over there again and we talked about the Priesthood. All three of them finally realized why this is all important. They all committed to start going to church, reading, and praying. Reactivating is so important. They have a testimony. They really do, but they're just a little lost. It's been amazing to see the Spirit working in them. If we looked at everyone with how much potential they do have rather than how much they do not, we could help so many more people. So that's my goal this week. 

     

Conference was sweet. They talked so much about the Second Coming! I heard a lot of what I can change too. I realized how much my eternal perspective has widened on my mission. I took sacred things too lightly, made too many excuses for myself, and was too concerned about the opinions of others. I cannot ever go back to the person I was. Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father are all that matter. I often get too caught up in other things and I now realize how foolish I was. This gospel is the MOST important thing on the earth. I am so grateful that it is in my life. My favorite line was, "What sign do I want to give God?" Yes Elder Nelson was talking about the Sabbath day, but I can ask myself that question in all things. I love this gospel and the knowledge I have of it. I know that the prophet, his counselors, and the apostles are called of God. Christ lives and God lives. This is the restored gospel and I love it. 

      

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng

Pregnant Cat

Howdy y'all,

We found a pregnant cat this week...

     

On Wednesday we watched the Joseph Smith Movie with one of our recent converts and her parents. Her parents are our other investigators. We finally got them to leave their house! (they're old) They loved it too! The next day R said her mom was really giddy and happy. HA that's the Spirit my friends. Also the church has a new video. "Because He Lives" We showed this to one of the families we are trying to reactivate. They are kind of punks sometimes because they are like 20, 18, and 15 year old boys but they have really good hearts. They loved it. They all shared their testimonies about Christ too which was sweet. So look it up. It's really good. I thought I would get the most joy out of baptisms but it's been really neat to see people that have fallen away from the gospel remember their testimonies. In reality, we're not teaching any of these people anything new. Even if they have never heard anything about the gospel in their lives, we are simply helping them recall what they were taught before they cam to earth. It's a beautiful process. 

      

Women's Conference was freaking sweet as well. My favorite part was in President Eyring's talk. He said "joy always comes after sorrow." It's true. Everyday I meet with someone who is going through or has already gone through something terrible. Many of these things I couldn't even imagine having to go through in my own life. That's what the gospel is for. It's always important, even in good times, but it's crucial in hard times. It's something immovable we can lean on. I have seen the joy after sorrow. I have seen the change in someone's face after receiving knowledge of the enabling power of the Atonement, after realizing that they can have their family forever, and after knowing that God will answer their prayers. Life isn't easy, but it's easier with the knowledge of all these things and more. Everything will work out.

     

Challenge: Before conference this weekend make a list of questions and pray about them. God will give you your answer through the words of the speakers and through the impressions of the Spirit. 

 

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-comforter?lang=eng

http://www.mormon.org/easter

Skinny Dipping in the Baptismal Font

Quote of the week: I am mad at God because He gave you white skin and mine is brown! 

 

Okay first of all I will give you all the backstory to my quote of the week. So we're at J&E's house. We were teaching them about the 10 commandments and all of a sudden J says, "so were you normal children? Like did you fight with your siblings?" So random. So we explained that to him and then we showed them pictures of our families. I showed E the picture of Haley, Aly, and I. Then she said that. It's funny because all the white girls that come out here want brown skin. 

     

R WAS BAPTIZED! Yay! So we were filling up the font and had to go to the other room and have correlation with the ward mission leader. After awhile we heard the water stop and ran in to see what was happening. It almost overflowed! Overflew? I don't know. Anyways it almost flooded the room. Also the water was freezing and green. Why was it green? I don't know. So we tried unplugging it. By the way I need to call the Prophet and tell him that there should be a tool to unplug the font without getting wet. Wait is there already? So it was stuck.... E, one of the Elders legitimately had to skinny dip IN THE FONT. I didn't know if I should laugh or not because it was so funny but I don't know if it was a really bad thing to do. We had no other option but still don't let my mission president know... Her baptism ended up being beautiful though. She was glowing! Especially the next day at her confirmation. Actually we missed that... We had to go bother her mom to come to church before sacrament meeting! Her mom is actually another investigator. So we went to her house to get her to come to sacrament meeting. She opened the door and was in her PJ's but I think she felt uncomfortable because we wouldn't leave until she said yes... Yeah I've turned into a complete creep but it's the only way to get things done around here. She came with us though! It's amazing to see the change in people. She already seems and looks more confident. A knowledge of God's love and the Atonement of Jesus Christ truly change us. That has been one of the biggest things I've realized this week. The gospel can change anyone. It doesn't matter who they were or what they did before. The gospel is for every single person. People we pass everyday could be waiting for the knowledge we have. It doesn't matter what they act or look like. (Watch the Mormon Message: "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father")

     

I just want to end with this quote from a talk I read this week called "The Fourth Missionary." (Find it and READ it!)  "Just give it up. Surrender your will to Him. Unconditionally. Withhold nothing. Turn it all over to Him; all of your desires, wishes, dreams and hopes. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. Trust in Him. Trust Him who knows all things. trust Him who has all power. Trust Him whose love for you is perfect. Trust Him, who alone suffered, paid and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. Trust Him that He will make of you, immeasurably more, than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity, make of yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece. You will create of you only a smudge. You will create an ordinary man. He will create a God."

     

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-002-earthly-father-heavenly-father?lang=eng

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-RFrnIsrlQYdElsQ0ZHN2hzREE/preview