Best Experience Of My Mission!

Augusta 25, 2014

Things have been good this week, we have a baptism coming up on Saturday for Carrie, the one who quit smoking. We had such a great experience with her this week. We were teaching the difference between the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost (the fact that without the gift the Holy Ghost can’t stay with us always) and she stops us and asks, "Is that why I can always notice that good feeling leave?" Best experience of my mission! I have never had an investigator tell me that they recognize that. I am so excited for her to be baptized. She is so ready! After her interview she told us that she wanted to keep reading the Book of Mormon so that she could teach the Gospel Principles class one day. It’s been great getting to teach her.

A member of our ward brought a friend to church two weeks ago and we have now started to teach him. He is really starving for something more in his life. He has been asking such great questions and he is so willing to learn. The ward is doing such a great job with him, everybody in this ward is really good at making people feel welcome.

That's about it, love ya

Jordan

Gotta Love The People You Meet As A Missionary

August 18, 2014

This week was good, we got to teach Ruben some more, he is still doing well. We taught him about family history, he loved it. So if the gift of tongues is speaking a different language, what do you call it if you can help some learn how to use familysearch.org in Spanish?

This sister who quit smoking (Carrie) is doing really well! We asked her a few weeks ago to let us throw her cigarettes away, but she was a little reluctant. This week though she let us take them and throw them in the trash! She hasn't smoked since last Sunday. She is doing really well and will be getting baptized on the 30th of August!

We were out contacting some people last night and we saw this guy on his porch so we went to talk with him. He said he was familiar with the church and so we talked with him a little about the restoration. When we got to the part about prophets he stops us and tells us that he is a prophet, a "street prophet", and that his ministry is out on sidewalks. He then proceeded, it all seemed like one breath, to misquote bible verses for 20 min. Gotta love the people you meet as a missionary.

That's about it, hope your leg gets better,

Love ya

Jordan

Living The Principles Of The Gospel Will Bring You Peace And Joy

August 11, 2014

How did everyone get so big?! I thought that Owen was still a baby! I’m glad things went well with the funeral, I hope all goes well with everyone as they go through this hard time. Yes I am in the Great Bridge ward in the city of Chesapeake.

So I got my travel itinerary in an email today. They said they sent it to you as well, it’s crazy to think that the mission ends. I feel like I have come to the point where I just accepted that this life style was all there is and that I was going to be a missionary like this forever!

Things went well this week! The lady who is quitting smoking has made it quite a few days without smoking, it’s amazing to see how much happier she seems as she has progressed in the gospel. We introduced her to familysearch.org and she loves it! Her goal is to have a name to take to the temple a few weeks after she is baptized! That has been such a powerful motivator for her to overcome smoking. One of the things I love seeing as a missionary is that living the principles of the gospel will bring you peace and joy no matter who you are!

There used to be Spanish missionaries that covered this area but it got closed down a few months back because nothing was happening. Now the Spanish branch and missionaries located in VA beach cover this area. But we asked Ruben (that's his name) if he wanted to go to the Spanish branch and he was very adamant about staying in this ward. The ward has been so great in fellowshipping him and his family and they are doing so well. Unfortunately something pretty major came up and we are going to have to postpone the baptism until further notice. It has nothing to do with his worthiness or his testimony or anything but Satan has gotten very creative this time. Ruben is such an inspiration and a great example of faith. He has learned and applied everything so well that this trial has hardly affected him. He is still very committed to church and the gospel and have we told him that we would have to postpone the baptism he thought about it for a while and with so much confidence and faith he said' "Its ok, my heart feels good". He is just such a great example of accepting the Lord's timing! I just hope I will be here to see him get baptized.

It was a good week for us,

Love ya

Jordan

I'm Excited To Be A Zone Leader Again

August 4, 2014

Yes, President Baker let me know. It is sad, but I’m glad she isn't struggling anymore. Hopefully everything goes well with the funeral.

How does a walk in stove work? Just kidding, it just sounded funny when I read about your new kitchen!

They really told you Oct 7? That’s cool, I guess I did my math wrong. That's good that it is during October break too. The Lord's timing is pretty fantastic!

I’m excited to be a zone leader again, there is always a lot to do. Time has already been flying. Elder Tucker is a hard worker so everything should be fine.

This week was good, we had a million meetings again so I’ve been tired. We got to teach a zone meeting again so that's always fun. The missionaries in the zone are great, it will be a really good transfer!

The Sister overcoming the word of wisdom is in this area. She is doing great! She hasn’t drank coffee in 3 days and yesterday at church she said she hadn't smoked that day either! She is such a sweet lady I’m excited to continue to work with her.

We also have another super prepared investigator that I didn't mention last week. He will be getting baptized next Saturday the 16th. He is from Mexico and speaks very little English but he understands the gospel so well! It’s been amazing to see the ward support him. There are a lot of members who served Spanish speaking missions that have been such a blessing. They come with us and help translate things he doesn't understand and they have really taken him under their wing. He is a part member family and his wife hasn't been extremely active, but just in the few short weeks He has seen the blessings of the Gospel at work, he recognizes the spirit super well. We will leave him teaching pamphlets in Spanish and when we come back he can teach the lessons to us almost perfectly! He is super awesome. Plus they fed us the other day, Hispanic food is so good, I think I was born in the wrong hemisphere!

Well that's about it, love you

Jordan