Monday, May 30, 2016

Cuban Feast

I got to go on an exchange this week with Hermana Homer in Canyon Lakes! My very first ward in the mission. It was great and I had so many flashbacks! I got to see two of the families that reactivated while I served there a year ago.

M our most recent convert made us a Cuban feast! Platanos, meat, rice, beans, etc. it was so good! Her grandson M is excited to be baptized and is making a lot of changes so he can attend church and read the Book of Mormon!

We teach English class at an elementary school and this Friday was the graduation. The students were so excited! Many of the students had very impressive professions in their countries but now have been forced to do other jobs because they don't know English. It has been a very humbling and amazing experience for me to help them learn and in turn, be able to improve their lives.

Our investigators didn't show up to church today and we were pretty discouraged. We had tried our best to have members invite them as well as greet them at church to make their church experience a positive one. We were a little down the rest of the day. No one was opening the door, people were canceling appointments, not many people would talk to us while we were tracting, etc. We were driving down the street and I was praying for a miracle to lift our spirits. We saw a driveway full of cars with Mexico license plates. We decided to get out and knock. The family ended up being related to Mormons! They were very kind and invited us back for dinner.

God wants us to be happy and see miracles, but he can only give us those things if we have faith and act.

And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I
would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and
not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no
witness until after the trial of your faith.
-Ether 12:6

Hermana Jorgensen

Monday, May 23, 2016

Roach Season!

Roach season is here! We've found two huge ones on the walls of our apartment. Stay tuned for more.

It was Hermana B's birthday this week so we went to Chipotle to celebrate! That night we went to visit a part member family. The daughter that is not baptized asked us at the end of the lesson how we
decided that being Mormon was right for us. It was a really cool experience. I got to talk to her a little bit about how I can't remember my baptism too well but every time we teach someone and can see how it helps them it reaffirms to me that I made the right decision.

On Tuesday I had my very last zone conference. We learned a lot about the plan of salvation. We focus so much on eternal life and the spirit world and we forget to explain who makes all of it possible. The atonement is infinite and beautiful. It is how we will one day return to the Father. I was able to give my "dying testimony" (this is missionary slang for their last testimony to their zone before they go home) to all the missionaries. I explained a little bit about the most important things
that I have learned in Houston. The sacrament is one of them. My mission has taught me so much about remembering Christ. It's one of the easiest outward expressions to Christ and God that we want to use the Atonement.

Wednesday was a cool day! We went knocking and found a lady that loved the Book of Mormon! She was so excited about it and is so stoked to read it! We also set a baptismal date with D! We asked her how she feels about being baptized and she told us she just wants to do it already! She will be baptized the 9th of June!

M was baptized on Saturday and received the Holy Ghost on Sunday! She was glowing! We are so excited for her!

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen


Monday, May 16, 2016

I like cats

D came to church! She's our little investigator! She brought her mom who is less active. They loved church! Hopefully next week we will get to set a baptismal date with her.

We had a near death experience with a dog on Saturday. We were knocking in some creepy trailers and didn't see the dog under a car. I ran away quick enough but I left Hermana B stranded but she
escaped somehow as well. I like cats more and more everyday.

Hermana Sumsion, one of my favorite companions, showed up at our district meeting on Friday! She finished her mission in December but was passing through Texas to visit! It was so good to see her. She was one of the biggest helps and supports on my mission. :)

We had a Mother's Day dinner activity on Friday with the ward! We ate a bunch of delicious Mexican food! (insert taco emoji here) our investigator came with her whole family!

Martha will be baptized this Saturday! We are so excited! She told us how much she enjoys reading the Book of Mormon and going to her church. The ward has been a huge help in her conversion. I love Cubans!

I loved the end of a talk I found this week from Neal A Maxwell:

"In conclusion, the submission of one’s will is really the only
uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many
other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things
He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally
submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in
God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only
possession which is truly ours to give!"

Though we cannot always do all that we would like to, we can consecrate our hearts to our Father and he will recognize that effort and bless us beyond comprehension.

Hermana Jorgensen


                                                   Surprise visit from Hermana Sumsion

Monday, May 9, 2016

Feliz dia de las madres!

Happy Cinco de Mayo/Mother's day!

To start out the week we had a mission leadership meeting. President Mortensen talked a little bit about fasting. He said something that truly resonated with me, "the Lord values spiritual strength much more than physical strength." It made me think of the problems I have had with my health in the last few months. Though it has been tough to go through it, I have learned a lot about relying on my spirit. I'm very grateful that Heavenly Father has given me trials to strengthen me.

I found out that a family that we helped reactivate in my first just went through the temple and was sealed last week! Another person we activated in that same ward is now in the Elders Quorum presidency and a ward missionary! That was exciting news.

 On Sunday we had a few really neat miracles happen:
1. We were teaching a lesson outside and there was a man standing on his porch staring at us. So we went over and talked to him. We had spoken with his roommates a few days prior. It turns out that he just arrived here from Mexico a month ago and was baptized there in January! He's been trying to find the church!
2. We were driving through a neighborhood and I saw a little girl dancing around with a book in her hand. It looked like the Book of Mormon but we weren't sure. We got out of the car and began speaking a little bit with the little girl and her grandfather. They aren't members but she's had the book since she was two and learned to read by reading it and the Bible! We're heading back on Tuesday to teach them!

Talking with the family on Sunday was the best! I loved seeing all of you, and I can't wait to see you again. I love Mother's Day because I get to talk to to all of you but the best part for me is being able to celebrate my angel mother.
"No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child." -Elder Holland

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen

                                                             Skyping on Mothers Day

Monday, May 2, 2016

Carlos & Laban

Greetings from Bear Creek!

My area actually touches my very first area in the mission. So most of my surroundings are pretty familiar. My companion's name is Hermana B! She's from Mesa so that has been fun to talk about.

I had to say goodbye to one of my favorite members of the Woodlands 3rd Ward named Victor. Hermana H and I cried all the way home. We also said goodbye to M which was a little heartbreaking as well. Everything feels more real as I'm entering the last few months in Houston.

The investigators and members in Bear Creek are amazing! We have two people with a date for this month named M and M. They are from Cuba! So spiritual and wanting to learn. We also have a little family we are teaching. He is a member but hasn't been since he was a teenager. She isn't a member and we are hopefully going to set a
baptismal date with her this week! We were reading in 1 Nephi 4 with them and when Nephi cut off Laban's head Carlos said, "um... Wow...." We laughed for a solid 3 minutes about it. They love reading the Book of Mormon. Last night we had a lesson with them in the Bishop's home. We taught her about the sacrament. She can't come to church every Sunday due to her job so we challenged her to fast to find a way to make it every Sunday.

We went knocking quite a bit this week. We found a man in an apartment complex that had heard a lot about Mormons and he was asking us many questions about Joseph Smith. His idea of the church was skewed but I promised myself I wasn't going to walk away until he understood that we don't worship Joseph Smith. He was amazed when we taught him about Jesus Christ and God and that there has always been a prophet called to guide us and tell us God's will. We taught him nearly all of the Restoration and it was a cool experience. We taught him again and it went well so I'm excited to see how he progresses. We had a goal at the beginning of the week to find a certain number of investigators. By Sunday night we were missing just one person. It was 8:45 pm but we were determined. We tried a potential investigator but we got the wrong house number. So we started talking to this lady and she was very hesitant to start but warmed up a little in the end. She let us teach her and we will be headed back this week! Prayers were answered.

I actually want to tell a story about my last area. It happened on Monday, the very last day that I was in the Woodlands. I consider it one of the coolest experiences I've had in my mission and maybe in my life. So there was a family that we were trying to teach a few months ago. One of the kids is a member but the rest of the family isn't. One day the mom left the kids for some guy and so the kid's uncle and his girlfriend moved in. She wasn't fond of us... One time we knocked on the door and she raised her voice a little and told us they already go to church and that we shouldn't come by anymore. So we felt kind of bad and didn't think much of it. Well she shows up at church a few weeks later! I asked her if we had met before and she said no... I felt very uncomfortable. Another few weeks later the elders called and said they had a referral for us. It was A! I couldn't believe it. We went over today and she was so nice! She stopped in the middle of the lesson and apologized for the time she got mad at me and said how sorry she felt and that it was just a stressful time. Today she was telling us all of her desires and that she thinks we can help. She got my email because we are being transferred and she emailed me right away and said how grateful she was that we went by. The atonement truly is something we can all access. I don't know if I will ever comprehend Christ's love for me but I feel it every time I repent or change. I'm so grateful for His sacrifice and love. It means the world to me.

Con amor, Hermana Jorgensen


                                                 McKenna & Hermana Homer with Victor
    McKenna can see Krispy Kreme from her new apartment window and she is a little scared about how often they may visit.