Zanahoria o huevo?

Ohh family and friends what a week it has been. I have been really sick this week which has not been fun at all. I have had a fever, runny nose, sore throat, stomach pains, an allergic reaction, and a cough. 

So it's been a pretty tought week trying to get over all of that. And there have been some days that my companions have made me stay in, but I always feel guilty when I have to do that because I really want to be out doing the work and talking with people and I feel I am not reaching my potential when I am just staying inside. 

And so I was a little frustrated at the beginning of this week, because I am trying my best to be a consecrated missionary and serve the Lord with all my ability, but this sickness was holding me back. And I didn't know why I was given this sickness.

Because we had to stay in a couple of times this week, I had the opportunity to have a lot of study time. I was reading in a talk we were given, and it says, "Every challenge you face, every hard thing you confront, every bad thing that happens to you, every unfairness, every conflict, every sadness, tragedy, every disappointment and heartache, every temptation and every opposition happens for one purpose only: to give you opportunity to respond by applying in your life the teachings of Jesus. As you do so you are changed to become more like him." 

So yeah that hit me pretty hard. I have learned even more to be grateful for our trials. Because without the trials in our lives we would never be able to become like our Savior. And this trial I have faced this week has allowed to me grow my faith in my savior and learn to trust even more in him. Because in all honesty this next two years are his, so whatever he seeth fit to put me through these next two years. I will go through, because I know he will only put me through things I can overcome and will be for my good! 

I was reminded of an analogy I once heard about trials. A trial is like a pot of boiling water. We can either choose to be an egg or a carrot. When an egg goes into the boiling water (a trial) it becomes hard. But when a carrot goes into the boiling water it become soft. So in this life our we going to let our trials make us made and bitter at God, and make us angry and hard hearted like an egg? Or are we going to let our trials soften us and humble us like a carrot? Because we cannot make it through this life without the help of Jesus Christ!

But we were still able to go out somedays and the work was really really good those days. I was able to talk to some really cool people, and in Baltimore you just never know what kind of people are going to cross your path. So its honestly like a game everyday we walk outside and I love it. 

Here are some highlights from the week:

1. I am thoroughly convinced we talked to an actual witch this past week. My companions have been telling me about this crazy lady who is always out an about asking people for money. And we finally ran into her this week, not once but twice. We were going to bt groceries this past week. And this lady, hailed us down and called us her grandchildren. She had a creepy witch voice and looked exactly like one. She then asked us for money, but I told her we dont carry money and told her we could share a message about Jesus Christ if she would like that. She didn't and wobbled away. The next day, we went to this famed Chicken place in Baltimore called hip hop chicken (a little overrated) but anyway she was in there again. Asking for money again. We were with our zone leaders, and one felt bad and bought her a potato salad. He then gave it to her and said, "I can't eat this without a soda. Buy me a soda!" My zone leader didn't and the store owner was getting mad with her and he just wanted her out so he gave her a Pepsi in a can. She then threw the Pepsi back and said, "I don't drink Pepsi!" So now the store owner was really mad, and I legit thought we were going to have a fight between the witch lady and the Hip Hop man. But he went to go get the Police and she eventually and went and sat on the curb outside the restaurant. And then as we were walking back to our car she asked for money again! I learned that as a missionary I need to be as persistent as the witch lady!

2. We had a little birthday party for our Ward Mission Leader this past Saturday. We had to make tamales for it. So my companion and I were in the kitchen with all the Latino women and it was so much fun. They were all super super impressed with my skills and tell me I have a natural talent! So I was just in there with all the women popping out tamales like it was nothing. What was so crazy is that women just kept coming in and they all know how to make tamales. So now that I know how to make tamales I am one step closer to becoming a Latina woman!

3. We were teaching this family and as we were leaving the house. Thw wife was cooking up meat, and she asked if we wanted some. She told us it was deer meat, so we thought it would be fun to try. So she threw some meat in the bag and sent us on our way. We got back to the apartment and we found out she gave us raw meat. So I went all iron chef on my companions and whipped of one delicious meal. It was really fun. Also don't really know how she got the meat... let's just hope she didn't take it out with her car! Ha!

4. Finally we were with a member and he didn't want to take the bus, so he got an Uber. The guy came and it turns out he was from West Africa, specific Ghana! So I was able to talk to him about Accra and especially Fufu. Shout out to my Ensley brothers Frankie and Bennie. He opened up after that and we shared a little message with him about God and his love for all of us. So a pretty cool seed that was planted.

So yes, this week had been hard but I have been able to learn so much. And this has been a good week. I love y'all and I hope this week is just the best. So so crazy i have almost completed my first transfer in the field. Time flies!

I love yall,

Elder Jorgensen 

Pics:

1. Baltimore, best city in the America

2. Cool public chalkboard

3. The city 

They call me Lil' Jorge.

Oh my goodness what a week it has been. It has been so busy this week has just flown by. We had so many meetings and other stuff it has been insane but so much fun. 

I have finally felt like I have hit my stride this week. The Spanish started to pick up and it has been a really good week. I'm not saying I'm fluent now or anything, just that it's been a really rewarding week! 

And I honestly believe this week has been so good because of some council I was given. Earlier this week i was lovingly reprimanded and told that I have a problem with comparing myself to others, and it was true. I was comparing my spanish and success with others, either by saying I was better than them or I was worse than them, and it was beating me up. I realized comparison is the thief of Joy! I was told to focus on myself and focus on my successes and what success means to me. As I have done that this week, I have found more joy than I thought possible. It's been a great week.

Like I said earlier, we had such a crazy week, so we didn't have a lot of time to go contacting, but the times we did were hilarious. I think the Lord gave me a hilarious week because he knew I needed it. Let me share a couple of stories with you:

1. So last week we found a lady on the street and she said she was super interested in learning more. So we set up a return appointment and called it a success. The next day we texted to confirm, and she said she was free and asked if we could meet at Starbucks. So we ended up teaching a lesson in Starbucks. Never thought I would do that, but the best part was she told us 6:00, so we should up there, but typical Latino time, she showed up at 6:30. She got out of the car in a skimpy lowcut yellow dress with high heels a big ole necklace and a sweater. We all just looked at each other, and had to keep from laughing because she looked like she was coming for a date. We all sat down and made small talk and then it was a little awkward, and my companion asked, are you going to by anything, and she said no. (So a little strange that we were there if she wasn't going to by, but we made the connection later she wanted my companion to buy her something). But needless to say it was an interesting lesson. She was staring at my companion like 80% of the lesson. So so so funny. We would ask her a question and then she would turn to my companion and respond. Oh my goodness it was so bad. And to add to it, they were playing so old goodies by T-Pain, so it was even harder to pay attention because she spoke really softly and there was this creppy dude just staring at me the entire lesson. Probably made awkward eye contact at least 17 times. A lesson for the memory books, that's for sure.

2. So our mission President said we had to be out of our house for Halloween, but right we were live apparently there are a lot of devil worshippers and Satanists, so we didn't want to be anywhere near where we live, so we met up with the other Elders and went to a little suburb of the city and spent the night with them. The best part was we had to take a bus and walk a pretty far distance to the house. And we passed so many people who were like, "Oh my gosh, I love your costumes, Mormon Missionaries! That's hilarious!" But when we told them we actually were missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they weren't as interested. But we did get some candy for our "original" costumes!

3. I have grown to love the people of Baltimore, because they are honestly so crazy. You really never know what's gonna happen. Like the other day we were waiting for the bus and a die pulled up and yelled at us. "Hey Mormon Brothers. Y'all look really nice today! What's the good word for today?" I shouted, "God loves you!" He said amen and drove off. Super funny, but the best of this week, was so hilarious. We were in true downtown Baltimore meeting a member. And we got off the bus and this dude came right up to us and said, "Why they call you Elders, y'all ain't old, y'all kids. And so am I. So y'all need to tell y'alls church people to change your names, because y'all ain't Elders and they shouldn't be treating y'all like them!" I tried explaining that Elder was a title in the church for those called to preach the gospel and it wasn't about age, but he wasn't having it. He then went on some long weird tangent about some weirdo "doctrine" and some other wacko stuff. But he did have a good point that I liked, he said that when Christ comes again, Christ ain't going to slay the wicked like the Bible says, because a commandment is thou shall not kill. So instead he's gonna come around and kill with kindness, gonna go around giving hugs to all and telling them that he loves them. Don't know if that's true or not, but an interesting insight from the Streets of Baltimore. He also told me that I need to change my name from Elder to Lil' because I am kid. And that will give me more street cred. So like I'll be walking down the street and someone will shout out, "Lil' Jorgensen, what's good brother!" Ya so I have a street name now, no biggie. Jajajajaja!

4. So this last one, I don't even know. So after our correlation meeting the 5 Elders in my district decided to go to Wendy's, because the 4 for $4 is made for missionaries. Anyway we walk in and this lady shouts at us, who y'all work for. We then explained that we were missionaries and our purpose is to bring light into the world and other stuff. She said, y'all pray for people. And we said yes. Then she came running over with her arms out. So 6 of us stood in a circle holding hands, saying a prayer that this lady would find a job and be successful, in line in a downtown Wendy's. It was so awkward and so funny at the same time. After we were done, we saw that her friend recorded the whole thing and posted it to Facebook. So if any of y'all see a video of 5 white guys praying in a Wendy's, that's me!

So this week has been super fun and super uplifting. And just the week I needed! I love all of you!

Lil' Jorgensen

1. The inner harbor

2. Trees that are cool

3. Get a companion who wants to match with you, #companionshipunity

Hey Halloween!

Hello Family and Friends!

Let me just start by saying this week has been all over the place. I've heard this missionary life described as a roller coaster, and that is exactly how this week has felt. 

Let me start with the weather. In the beginning of this week, it was super cold. Chilly during the day and then super cold at night. It was up and down during the week, and then all night Friday and most of Saturday it absolutely poured. And it was a cold rain, so a miserable type of rain to work in. And then Saturday night was nice. And then it rained all morning today, but it came in with a heat wave and humidity. So it was like 80 degrees today, humid, and sunshine. Super super crazy. 

And that is pretty much how my week went too. High points and low points, but always in a upwards progression. There have been some really tough days this week, but no matter how tough the day is, there is always something good about it. You just have to look for it. And I think that is one of the biggest lessons that I have learned while being out here on a mission. Life is really really tough sometimes, and sometimes we get knocked down and we feel like we're even getting kicked while we are down, but no matter the situation we can still have joy. I love the quote by President Russell M. Nelson, “When the focus of our lives is on … Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him." No matter the situation we find ourselves in we can still CHOOSE to be happy. If we focus our lives on Christ and make him the center of our lives, we can find joy in any circumstance. I have found that four things help me focus my life on Christ. 

1. Partaking of the Sacrament every week and taking my commitment to always remeber Christ seriously.

2. Praying earnestly everyday day outloud and being patient and waiting for a response. Because I am talking to my father in Heaven and not leaving a voicemail. I need to wait for him to respond.

3. Reading the Book of Mormon everyday. I have grown the love the Book of Mormom even more while I have been out of a mission, and I truly know what it means to feast on the words of Christ! And I love the council from President Johnson, that if we read the Book of Mormon everyday, everyday, everyday, Satan's tools of deception, discouragement, and distraction will have no power over us!

4. Be grateful for all things. As wise woman in my life once told me, "Be grateful for all things, and gratitude is like a magnet for blessings." And that is so true, when we are grateful for all things we are so much happier. We look at trials as a way for God to help us grow and learn instead of as a punishment. And no matter how hard the day is, if we look for blessings, we will realize God was with us every step of the way that day! Gratitude for blessings=Even more blessings

I know these things to be true, and we can be happy at all times and in all places. We can find joy in every situation.

Let me just share a few highlights from the week:

1. Last night we had a family night/Halloween activity at our church. And it was so much fun. They had us play full court basketball, and we have 5 elders in our branch so we were each team captains. And let me tell you these hispanic ladies are crazy. There were 2 ladies that played with us, one was like 64 and the other was like 42. And they were hustling up and down the court diving all over the place. It was so funny to watch. And the older one actually blocked my companions shot, I about lost it, it was so funny! These Latinos are crazy but so funny! 

2. Latinos can't pronounce my name so I've been getting called everything, Elder Jorge or Elder George and Elder Jorgesito are the most common. But if it sounds even close, I respond, it's pretty funny. The best name I've gotten though is Elder Santa Clause, because of my red cheeks! (I have Jeaners to thank for that one!)

3. I was eating in a Wendy's,  and then all of a sudden two dudes start going nuts and throwing hands in the parking lot. It was basically street fighter Baltimore version! No one got hurt, but if they did there was an ambulance in the parking lot, so it's all good!

4. Our water got shot off for one day, so it was fun living life without running water. It was a really fun time! Took my first ever wet wipe bath! Ha!

5. Found my new favorite food. It's called Yucca and it is a Peruvian Vegatable, but the best part is it doesn't taste like a vegetable at all. We went to a restuarant and they brought it out and I legit thought they were French fries. So vegetables that taste like French fries, my new fave!

I love all y'all,

Elder Jorgensen

Pics:

1. The three generations, my trainer and my trainer's trainer

2. The zone leaders

3. Tried to be artsy 

4. I'm basically a temple square missionary now

B'more Happy.

¡Saludos! 

I hope all is well everywhere else, because things are great here in Baltimore. Crazy like always, but good! (Also Baltmore apparently has a rat problem, and I see one almost everyday so that's fun...)

But this has been a good week, still getting adjusted to this crazy and fast missionary life, but I have learned a lot and really feel my testimony being deepened. There have been 3 big lessons that I have learned this week:

1. Why am I here? Duty or love

This past week we had a zone conference with our mission president and he have us some really really amazing insights. He is so funny, he calls us all "his beloveds" and tells us to be strong like a dolphin, and whenever we speak we need to stand up and speak with the voice of the church! He is also super energetic and loud so there's never a dull spot with him. 

Anyway, he said something that really struck me to my core. He asked us all to reflect on why we were here. He then said if you are here because it is simply out of duty you will hate your mission, but if you are here because you love the savior and the people of baltimore, even if you aren't the best missionary in the world, you will love your mission. And I can 100% testify to this. There have been times this past 2 weeks where I have felt I am here out of duty rather than my savior. I was focusing on myself and my setbacks, and having the me me me mentality, but that's not the way christ was. He was always looking to help and talk with others. So after that meeting I have prayed to be filled with the Christ like love for others and I tell myself constantly that I am here for the Lord. It is not my time, but the Lord's. And as I have been doing that, the days aren't getting easier, but my days are much brighter and happier. It is really interesting, the mission is really really tough and the hardest thing that I have done, but also I have never had so much joy while going through hard times. It is simply amazing!

2. Send it with the Spirit

The second lesson I learned came from the zone meeting as well. We had a "breakout" where we go as a group of missionaries and real-play (we real play no role play) situations. So I was a companions with my zone leader Elder Randall and my real companion Elder Rodriguez. We were talking and teaching and it went pretty good. I said some stuff and it was good. Elder Randall then took my aside and said "You were quiet, you need to speak more." I immediately thought It's my second week, chill out, I don't really know a lot of stuff. But he told me, you are called to be a missionary now, not in a couple of months when you understand, but now! He told me, that what he did when he was being trained was try to listen and if you can catch some words, bear testimony on that. It maybe a little weird, but the Holy Ghost will testify of the truthfulness of my words. So we came up with the phrase, Send it with the Spirit. 

It has been really fun putting this into play, and a little difficult. The hardest part is actually figuring out when to interject my comments, because Latinos like to talk. And they have good stuff to share, you just have to pick a good time to jump in and say something. Pretty funny! But it has been really good, sharing small but powerful testimonies. They maybe small and conjugated incorrectly or something else, but I bearing testimony. 

3. It's good to stand out

When I first got to baltimore, I really hated going outside, because I felt like everyone was watching me and judging me. But how I have changed. I can't help it because three things make me stand out:

1. I'm wearing a white shirt and tie. Sometimes a suit. 

2. I am tall

3. I am white

And I realize that these differences can actually be used for good, because they are great conversation starters. When people notice me, they just come up start talking to me about different things. We talk to lots of people because of the way we look, like I've gotten "why y'all dressed so nicely" or "hey look it's the professors" or "why you white boys out here!" And when people come talking to you it is so much easier to share the gospel.

But the hardest part is most of the people we make contacts with, dont speak spanish. We we start really good conversations with people, and then we give them a pass along card with the number of the English elders or a pamphlet, and go on our merry way. It's a little hard because some of these people would be really cool to teach if I could, but they are for the English elders. I realized that I just plant seeds, and that is a really important part of missionary work.

Like the other day we were on our way to an appointment and we get on the bus and go the back and sit down. But before I sat down I said hello to the man behind us. We then sat down and the man said to us, "Dang, I thought y'all were the police coming to pull me off the bus, because I just spilled my beer everywhere." Great Icebreaker, we then said, no were the missionaries coming to pull you off the bus and put you in the front. Nah JK, but we did have a really cool conversation about God and his love for all his children and how we need to work together to make this a better world, and some other good stuff. He then was going to get off so we handed him a pass along card and he asked for another one so he could give it to his boss. Not one but 2 seeds planted, BOOM!

But life is a go go go here in Baltimore lots of people to talk to and lots of people that need to hear this message, because they really need it. Baltimore really needs the gospel, there's a lot of sad people who could be lightened by it. So that's why I'm here. To share the love of the God to all of his Children. To being people the joy I feel everyday as i read the book of mormon and follow its teachings. 

Also, don't throw a tortilla in a Hispanics house or they get really mad. Jajajaja

Love,

Elder Jorgensen

Pics:

1. Be a star or whatever this shape is trying to be. Just call it a "Baltimore Star"

2. The professors 

3. Were not sick, just thought it looked cool

4. Took a walk through a golf course, because it was pretty

Good Morning Baltimore.

Hello To All,

How's everyone doing? I'm doing great, and I hope you are too!

This past week has been a roller coaster for sure, crazy, exhausting, funny, scary, hard, but all in all it's been a really good week. I've learned lots and have grown so much!  

So this past week we had a meeting where we were assigned an area and a trainer. Lucky for me, I get 2 trainers which is really awesome. It's like one big party all the time. They are Elder Casey and Elder Rodriguez, both are from Utah (or La Fábrica, as a lot of people like to call it!) Anyway my first area is Downtown Baltimore, and ohhhh my goodness, I've only been here one week but do I have some stories! It's 100% a lot like Ensley, so it was almost a coming home for me, HA! It has been so much fun, and I would rather be here than anywhere else. Things here just make life more fun.

So Baltimore is literally a melting pot, people from all different types of nationalities and walks of life live in Baltimore, and I get to see it all. But the hardest trial I have had this week has been trying to get used to the different types of Spanish. It's been really really tough. I learned Mexican Spanish, so when we talk with somebody from Mexico I can understand a lot of what they are saying, but then you throw in somebody else from another nationality and I'm done for. We talked with people from Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Peurto Rico, The Dominican  Republic, and Salvador. They speak so fast and cut off parts of words that I can barely understand anything. We literally went into one lesson with a lady from Honduras and she spoke softly and really fast. We were probably in there for almost 45 minutes, and probably the only word I understood was pantalones. It was so bad! We had a couple of other lessons like that so I have felt a little useless at times this week. But there was one day that was really really tough, and I just wasn't feeling it at all. I wasn't happy and wasn't feeling the joy of missionary work, but I figured out what was wrong. I was focusing on myself and my weaknesses instead of reaching out to others. I was focusing on the natural man instead of focusing on the character of Christ and reaching out to people anyway I can. So I came up with a plan that has really helped me.

1. I talk with everyone I see (hablar con todos!) It is weird because there are a lot of people in Baltimore who don't speak Spanish. And with our primary focus on Spanish people, it is kinda weird talking to them. But I still say hi to them as we pass by. Trying to share the love of God with all men. But it is really hard contacting most of the day in English and then trying to switch of Spanish, but "I can do all things through Christ who strengthenth me." So it requires a lot of Patience right now, and I dont know why the Lord is giving me so many different circumstances to grow my patience, but I know that "all these things shall give me experience, and shall be for my good." So it's really difficult because I want to share what I know and Express my personality, but I can't do that because I either dont understand the person or can't truly Express how I feel in Spanish. But in the Lord's time I will learn Spanish and be able to preach the Gospel. But I do know that talking to everyone makes life better and happier. It also makes some really fun stories. 

This week we were walking by a package store. And an old white dude with some thwispy wispy hair was standing outside. We said hi and he called us over. He had no teeth and told us his name. He told us that he needed a prayer for him and his momma. So right there in the middle of the sidewalk we said a prayer. What was really funny is he handed is cigarette off because I guess he wanted to hold hands. So we had 3 guys in white shirts holding hands with a toothless old guy in the middle of the sidewalk in Baltimore, saying a prayer. I bet it was quite a sight! Ha! After the prayer he said, I got something for you. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some candy. And it was the best stuff I have had in my entire life! No I'm just kidding, you never take candy from a stranger!

The older story is a little scarier. So we were walking in a pretty sketchy place at like 7:30 but It was pitch black. We were walking by a bar and this dude yelled at us hey mormons. I immediately turned around and he said yeah you. One of trainers turned but the other didn't hear him and kept walking. The dude yelled, dont you run away from me mormons! Come here right now! The dude said I know you kind let me talk to you. (He looked exactly like samuel L Jackson from Glass but had a nasty black and grey beard). He said come close, closer, closer, until we were almost touching heads in a huddle formation. This man reeked of beer, and you can bet that my heart was beating so so so fast and ohh buddy was I praying. But this dude was actually really cool, he said he met with mormons before and really respects and admires what we do. He threw some nice expletives in there, but he invited us to his house to talk. Haven't gone back yet, but maybe this week.

2. The other way I figured I could help is a little funny. I came up with a title for myself. I am the listener. And I figured out I am really good at it. I sit there and look into the peoples eyes and give a nod every once in a while, or a little chuckle. And the whole time I have no idea what is going on. But the people feel like they are being heard and someone cares about them, so I'm doing my part. I also get to bear small testimonies when my companions ask me to, so it's all good! 

But yes this week has been so so crazy but so much fun! I love the ward and I love the people of Baltimore! It's already been a ride and its only gonna get better!

I love you all, and I hope you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Jorgensen

Pics:

1. Me and my trainers

2. President Mutombo and his wife

3. Me and my Latinos (love 'em)

An Alabama boy goes to work in a Mexican sweat shop.

Let me just start out by saying that I have had such a great time this week. I absolutely love the CCM! I had never felt the spirit so much or laughed so much in my entire life. Life is really really good being a missionary.

Let me tell you about the highlight of my week. The sweat shop! 

Every day we have a specific time set out for "gym time". Each day we have it from 1:10-2:00, and we can pretty much do whatever we want. But on every Wednesday we have a service project instead of gym time. So yesterday was our first one, and the area we helped out in was the laundry room. 

Let me just put this into perspective. Right now there are just over 900 missionaries at the CCM. There are 42 houses with can take 20 elders each and then 2 large dorm buildings that house sisters. Each house and dorm also has a ton of back up sheets, because we are asked to change out sheets every week. So a lot of laundry is done at the CCM.

So we went to the laundry room and it is a lot smaller than I thought and it was absolutely crazy. There are like 30+ huge washers and dryers lining ththe wall and they just pack the elders in there, thank goodness I was taken to the other room, but it was still crazy. In the other room, I folded fitted sheets, you know the ones that are impossible to fold, yeah... so you can just see how this was going. I had this short little Mexican woman telling me how to fold a fitted sheet, but guess what she couldn't speak Spanish, and it was super loud at me. So I was standing there attempting to fold a fitted sheet while I had a little Hispanic woman yelling at me in spanish. It was quite the sight, but I can say that after a couple of times of trying, I now know how to fold a fitted sheet. 

There was another elder who joined me named Elder Waldron, who's in my district, he said he came from the other room where another short Hispanic man was yelling at him and making him run around and carrying dirty sheets all over the place. So he secretly made his way over to my room, but he had little luck there too. The old lady was teaching him too, and then she left and he folded one on his own. But apparently it wasn't good enough because the old lady went and grabbed it out of the bin and refolded it in right in front of him. I was just dying from laughter. 

So the project was supposed to end at 2:30, but we stayed until 2:40 and then on our way out the old Hispanic man from the other room pulled us back and was yelling "cinco mas minutos, cinco mas minutos!" He then threw us a huge bin and started hurling packages sheets as us. They were heavy and coming in fast, we were supposed to put 4 across and 3 tall with 3 on the sides. But I lost my count a couple of times because I was laughing so hard. This little Mexican dude was hurling packages sheets at us like buddy the elf was hurling snowballs. One elder wasn't paying attention and got drilled right in the face and the Elder Waldron got drilled right in the throat. Oh my goodness I was laughing so hard! By far the best CCM story yet.

I have had a lot of fun this week and I have grown so close to my district and I can say that I truly love them. 

Elder Jorgensen

Also, try speaking Spanish in a British accent, it's lots of fun

1. My district 

2. My roomies

3. My companion Elder Phillip's

4. My district again, doing who knows what

The companionship click.

Hola Familia y Amigos,

This week has been simply amazing. It is crazy that I have already hit 3 weeks, and I am already done with half my stay here. Sometimes it feels like I´ve been here forever, and sometimes it feels like it has gone by so fast.

This week has been really good, and it is honestly because I have grown really close to my companion. But let me just say it has been work.

Getting used to living with someone 24/7 is really fun getting used. It definitely takes a lot of patience. My companion is really different from me and we were raised in completely different ways. I was trying my best to be patient and kind, but there were just some things that were really difficult. Planning together was really tough and there were sometimes that we had our disagreements and we just weren't having the best the times.

I was having a really really hard time. 

But one night we went to the Thomas S. Monson building to have a quiet time to study. Elder Phillips was preparing a talk, so I took advantage of the time and read the Book of Mormon. And let's just say that  had a come to Jesus moment! It was quite a chastisement. I was reading in 3 Nefi 12, especially verses 22-25 y 37-45 and then also 1 John 4: 7,20, y 21. After reading I definitely realized that I was in a great need of repentance. Let me just say, if any of you are angry with someone, holding a grudge, or have a strained relationship with someone, go read that and see how you feel afterwards. The biggest verse that stuck out to me was, ¨But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgement. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.¨ 

I needed to repent, be the best companion I can be, and always be uplifting, because I don´t want the punishment described in those chapters. 

And since we have been working together, this week has been amazing. We are planning together, laughing together, and having a grand ole time. Our lessons are a whole lot more powerful because we are on the same page. I am enjoying the work so much more. 

We went back to the sweat shop yesterday, and I'm pretty much a seasoned veteran there. They all know me by name and I'm the instructor now. Were best friends now and we talk all the time. Also the little Mexican man, Hermano Lechuga has the same watch as me so we're pretty much homies. 

Also I thought that scattered showers were crazy in Alabama, but they are even crazier here in Mexico. We were sitting in the comedor one day this past week and then the skies just opened and it was the hardest rain I had ever seen. There were these two Elders who went out into the rain and were singing and dancing. They then proceeded to jump into puddles and finally sat down in the puddle and pretended to row a canoe. There was this instructor that was just shaking her head and saying, Oh Elders! But in a Spanish accent so it was really really funny.

Yeah and I have to give props to Jack Black and the entire Nacho Libre cast, because their Spanish accents are absolutely perfect. We had a workshop this past week and the teacher kept on saying chips, and all I could think of is the line ¨these are the Lord´s chips.¨ It was so funny! 

I really do love being a missionary, it is such a blessing. Some days are really hard, but you just push through because it´s always going to get better. We went to the Temple last week and I had to take my name tag off and I honestly felt different without it. I love the tag and I love the calling!

Have a great week, y'all are awesome,

Elder Jorgensen

Life is better with love.

Hello to all,

It is absolutely crazy how fast time flies as a missionary! Like where did September go? I can't believe it is already October and and I leave on Tuesday. But it is pretty much like leaving on Monday, because I have to leave the CCM at 1:30 in the morning. So Tuesday is going to be a blast....

This week and throughout my stay at the CCM is life is better when you treat everyone with Love! With it being our last week and everyone getting ready and anxious for the field, there have been some tense moments this past week. There was one day that was really bad. There is an Elder in our district who has a hard time staying on task or focused. He doesn't like to sit still or properly as missionaries do. Our teacher gets onto him a lot and there was one day this week he had enough. He flipped out and everyone started being contentious with each other, but what was really interesting, was in this midst of all the contention I was happy. I was angry at others or angry that this Elder was being prideful, but I just had a tremendous amount of love for them. Life is better with love, because you are always able to have the spirit with you and you won't really get mad or frustrated with everyone. None of us are perfect so why do we need to get mad at others. Just love them!

It's crazy how much a mission changes you, I have only been out only a month, but there are times where it really makes itself manifest. We were teaching a ¨lesson¨ to our teacher this past week on gaining the importance of a testimony of latter day prophets and invited her to General Conference on Sunday. We shared a the Story from Gordon B. Hinckely: Lessons I learned as a Boy. It´s a super powerful story and it was a super powerful lesson. After the lesson, my teacher kindly scolded us, saying that we need to prepare our lessons and we should have invited her to Baptism. I was immediately taken back by this because we planned our lesson and I never really had an impression to invite her to baptism. I was a little offended by this comment and don't really remember what I said, but it really wasn't nice. But after we went to class and had a scripture study and I felt really really bad and sorry for what I said. I went and apologized to my teacher and I felt at peace after. Back home I would have never felt the need to say sorry and repent over small things like that when people say stuff they don't really need to say. But Chirst never got mad and was always loving, and If I want to be his servant I need to model my life after his. 

It will be sad to leave the CCM, but I am so glad I had this opportunity to come to Mexico and experience a little bit of the culture and learn Spanish! This has been the 6 best weeks of my life. And I couldn't believe I can grow so close to random stranger as I have here. I love being a missionary and Having Christ's name on my chest. I am grateful to preach the good news and the opportunity to help people come unto Christ and understand his Atonement and how to use it. I am grateful for the trials we face in life. Sometimes we wonder why God has given us these hard times or these hard things. Why why why, do we have to go through these things. My life would just be so much easier if I never had to go through this. But this is false thinking. God gives us the trials to grow closer to him! We are given trials so that we can have a stronger testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are given trials so that we can repent and change and become more like him!

I am so excited for Conference this weekend. I am so excited to Hear the words of the Prophet and the Apostles! And that is so so so cool how Women can now participate in the witnessing of Baptisms. I know that Lord is hastening his work and he needs all the people he can to help out in his work! I am so happy to be on the front lines in these days and preaching repentance and Baptism unto the people that need to hear his word! I love him and I love to Serve him!

Be sure you have your questions for Conference!

I love Y'all,

Elder Jorgensen

1. Me and Elder Hurd, the twin to Elder Hurd in my district 

2. Elder Saxton and Elder Williams. Amigos who left this past week

3. Tried to have the missionary Smolder, didn't really work! Ha 

4. Ohhh shoot, it's a rat