Zombie Cockroaches

We ran into a few zombie cockroaches this week. Seriously they will not die. 

So this week we decided to change it up a little with finding people. And it worked! We had the best contact of my life. We were in Goodwill and there was an African American guy staring at us. I'm assuming because we were speaking Spanish. We (Hermana P) said she felt like we should talk to him so we went back and started up a conversation. He wasn't even black, he was Cuban! He was so excited to meet us and wants to come to church! We also went contacting at the pulga (flea market) It was awesome for people watching and we also met some really cool people there. 

Our mission president has started a few new cool things lately to get involved in the community. One of them is church tracting. So basically you go into churches nearby and offer service. It's a little terrifying sometimes because you don't know how they'll react. So we went into this huge church and they ended up being super nice and said we could help out with their vacation bible school. We went and helped and they invited us back for some of their activities. She even prayed for us. Pretty sweet. 

So we got back in with the less active and his nonmember wife again! They're so awesome. We talked to them a little bit about temples and stuff like that. They ended up coming to the tours outside of the temple last night. They loved it and she had a ton of questions! We are so excited to keep teaching them. So willing to learn and become closer to Christ.

This week I've learned so much about God's love. God loves every single one of his children.

 1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

We can't ever judge another and assume that he or she wouldn't accept or be inspired by the gospel. God doesn't care what we look like or who we were or even who we are. He loves us always. Our present circumstances DO NOT MATTER. He loves us in our sins, struggles, and successes. We should give others that same love. 

Con todo mi amor, Hermana Jorgensen

Engodarse

Hola!
    
So we were teaching English class the other day and a lady from our ward was there. She's from Argentina. She offered us a cracker so I took one and she said to take more. Mas hermanas, mas! We politely
declined and she told us that it was probably better that way because we are chubby...
    
Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting. Hermano H got up to bear is testimony. He and his family have recently been reactivated. It was one of the sweetest things ever. Him and his wife are doing so well! They are really happy and are planning to go to the temple as a family to get sealed soon :) happy day.
    
The other day we were trying to find a few people without addresses on the ward list that are less active. We called a few
numbers and got a call back later that night. It was from a guy who has been a member of the church for a long time but was living in his in laws house for a few years. They were Catholic and didn't really like their daughter going to church with him so he became inactive. Well he called and invited us over. They were so cute! They have a little girl and are just a really cute young family. We're going to start teaching his wife! She said she is open and would like to start coming to church.
    
While we were teaching one of our investigators a few weeks ago, she brought up coffee and said that she would never quit drinking it. This past week we went over and she casually brought up that she is trying to get her husband to stop drinking it. HA! We were so happy. She knows that the Book of Mormon and the gospel are true. She was truly a prepared soul. We have seen that so much in this area. It reminds me of a scripture that I was reading this morning in Alma 32, 16 "Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being
compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe."

We have found so many people recently that are so humble without being compelled to be that way. They are seeking the Lord in their lives and are willing to change if it is His will. These people have been such a
testimony to me of how I want to stand before God.

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

At first look I thought this was a picture McKenna sent showing how grey and rainy Houston has been for the last month. But when I blew it up I saw the billboard that says "God Listens". I added a pink arrow on the picture to point it out.

Home of the free, Land of the doughnut shops

Hola! Como estan? Estoy muy bien y disfrutando la area de Canyon Lakes. 

     

We were walking down the street in our favorite neighborhood of Houston. We saw a little Asian man walking down the street with his cane so we stopped and gave him a Bible pass-a-long card in English. He barely spoke any English but asked if it was Jesus and the bible on the card. Then he read both of our name tags. We talked to him a little bit (hoping he could understand). Then we got into our car to go to our next appointment. As we looked over at him he bowed to us! That was the first time I've ever been bowed to! It was quite exciting. 

     

I have also had many uncomfortable experiences contacting in Walmart the past few days. There are many interesting people to be found there. I met a lady named Felicidad in the bathroom. She was quite nice.

     

J is progressing quite nicely. She didn't end up coming to church which was a bummer but has been reading and truly wants to become better and closer to the Lord. She is trying to talk to her husband about going to church with her so we will see how that goes. This week we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We hope she understands the importance of baptism soon so that she can enter into that sacred covenant with God and receive the blessings. 

     

S is coming back to church and came to our mission president's fireside on Sunday! It was awesome. It really sparked his memories of his mission and how much he loved it. He has a goal to go back to the temple soon and is reading and praying everyday! Small and simple things my friends.

     

I am beginning a 9 month challenge to develop more attributes of Christ. In chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel, there are 9 of the many attributes of the Savior. Our mission president has challenged us to study 1 each month. I am currently studying faith. Faith is one of the most simple attributes, but for me has been very difficult to begin developing. It is the key to all the other attributes. I have already learned so much about it in my studies. The Savior had so much faith and I hope to develop just a small portion of that. 

Moroni 7:25

Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

Let the miracles in your life CONFIRM your faith and receive the blessings. 

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen 

Transfers and Tornadoes

So it was a rainy Sunday morning and we received a weather alert text. There have been a few tornado warnings in the area as well as really bad floods. The second is largely due to the fact that Houston has a terrible draining system. We did not hide in the bathtub though...Never knew that's what you should do in a tornado. Our power went out and we had to get ready for church with flashlights. But we still lived. No worries. No tornado. We're bueno.


I now have a new companion. Hermana P. No she is not from Provo but from Utah all the same. I quite enjoy her. Her Spanish is very beautiful and she's bomb at doing a Cuban accent. So J went to do baptisms for the dead in the temple! He loved it! He had to leave for Mexico the next day though :( We got a bunch of info for him about the church and the missionaries in Vera Cruz. We were a little worried but got a text not too long after the tornado madness that he was in the church building at sacrament meeting!


We were knocking the other day and met a kid who said he was "unfortunately agnostic." Uhhhh you can change that you know... Anyway he said his grandma would love to hear though. We went into the back of the house (kind of sketchy) and his cute little grandma was on her medical bed. She was hooked up to a bunch of wires and tubes and everything. We shared Helaman 5:12 with her and asked her about her relationship with Jesus Christ. We ended with a prayer and asked for us to pray for her friend M who is sick. This little old lady was in a hospital bed and can't move or walk or anything and asked us to pray not for her, but for her sick friend. I learned a lot from her in those short 5 minutes about the Christlike person I hope to one day become. Helaman 5:12 also brought to pass another miracle. The Bishop's Mother-in-law's sister is less active. So one day we decided to visit her. She only opened the door a crack and told us upfront that she is more interested in the Catholic church right when she opened the door. We asked her if we could just share a scripture with her. We shared Helaman with her and she went on and on about who Christ is to her. We left her with a prayer and then she basically told us not to come back. But guess what we did? 2 days later we were back on her doorstep. This time she let us in! We physically sat on her couch INSIDE. Pretty cool. She set up a return appointment too! The bishop and his mother-in-law couldn't believe it. Jesus saves, bro.


Everything is finally starting to click with our investigator J. She is really understanding the Priesthood and the keys that we have in this church that no one else has. She is excited to start coming to church. We have a lot of faith in her and know that as she continues praying for an answer, she will receive an unshakable testimony.


So we're getting iPads! Pretty neat. I was actually kind of bummed because it's kind of nice not having technology. BUT we are already seeing how much it can hasten the work of the Lord. We had a mission
conference with Elder Brent H. Nielsen from the 70. One thing that I loved was that everyone who spoke and trained today pleaded that we don't become "slaves to technology." We need to become totally transparent with ones we love. We can't let this blessing isolate us or control us. It's pretty cool and I'm pretty stoked to see how it
will open up doors to bless other's lives.


Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen