Friends and Family,
Merry Christmas to you all!!! I am so excited for this time we have to remember our savior and all the things he did for all and all we can do because of him!
This week has been absolutely awesome. The work is starting to really pick up which is really awesome. But definitely the highest point of this week was Thanksgiving. We were told by our Mission Leaders to not go knock doors because it is precious family time, so find other ways to complete the work. So we were thinking of different ways to do this, and we both thought about all the homeless people here in Baltimore, and how sad they are. So we decided to make a Thanksgiving lunch for them. We didn't have a lot of stuff, but we gave them a sack lunch with Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Cheezits, and Brownies. And we went out and tried to find the homeless. It was such a neat experience to see how we blessed the lives of those people, and how we even got rejected at times or people weren't very grateful but we were still doing what Christ would do. There was this man who was playing his Guitar and we offered him food and he took it and then played a song for us! Super Cool dude and a super fun Thanksgiving being able to go out and serve people! I also loved feeling like a mom packing my kids lunches before they go to school! Ha!
We also had a wonderful opportunity to teach a lesson yesterday to a recent convert family and we watched the Christ Child. Oh my goodness is this a miracle of a video or what! The entire time I was feeling the spirit so strong. I had a new insight to the Christmas story this time, and it's the Lord calls upon the week and "normal" people of the world to complete his work. Mary was honestly probably just a teenager when she was pregnant and Joseph was a simple Carpenter. They weren't super rich or famous, they were just normal everyday people, but they were called to have one of the most important callings. To raise Jesus Christ! Also the first people that were invited to see Jesus were the shepherds. And shepherds at that time were normal people too, in fact they were one of the lowest in the society, but the Lord asked them to see the baby Jesus first. I was reminded of a scripture in D&C 35:13-14
"13 Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit;
14 And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them."
And the whole video and this scripture just gives me more and more assurance. I am no where near a perfect missionary. I am getting better with the language, but I still don't have all the words and I am just an 18 year old KID! I am not perfect, but the Lord has called me to teach the Latinos in Baltimore. He will magnify my efforts and turn me into the missionary he wants me to become. And if any of you feel unworthy or unqualified for a calling, know God has specifically called you to do that work. Know that God calls upon imperfect people to complete his perfect work!
Some Funny/interesting/cool moments from this week:
1. We were walking down the street a couple of days ago and this man just stopped us and addressed us by Elders. (Which is still a little weird because most people who aren't of our church don't call us by Elder) but he told us that he was baptized in Honduras 5 years ago and really hasn't been super active since, but he wants to come back to church. So we got his information and are going to go visit him this week!
2. There was a homeless man on the corner of the street yesterday yelling at cars. We could see him a little ways off and decided to walk in that direction. It turns out that he was homeless but had some old cassette tapes. They were all oldie Goldie black gospel music and they were all in perfect condition. If I had a cassette player or $15 on me I would have 100% bought them because I love black gospel music. But we didn't have either, so he then asked me if I had a bus fair, which we didn't. But we had just been given some mexican sweet bread by a member so we gave that to him. He was so funny when he took his first bite! But then he asked if we had a church and we gave him a pass along card and he said he was going to be coming next Sunday!
3. We were out knocking houses one night and there was one house that had been previously taught, so we thought it would be a good idea to knock it.....Nope... we knocked and then waited and then heard this creepy deep drunken laugh and then a baby started crying. My companion and I looked at each other, our eyes got wide, and we took of sprinting down the road. I don't think I've ever ran that fast in my life. We then rounded the corner and both lost it!
4. We are teaching the friend of the lady that thought she was going on a date with us to Starbucks! We had a lesson with her this past week and her kids were there. Her kids only speak English and she understands most of English, but only speaks spanish. So I don't know how that family dynamic works, but the Gospel will bless it. But I knew this lesson was going to be hilarious, because as soon as one of the kids opened the door, he shouted inside, Mom, The priests are here! But anyway we were teaching the mom and then the kids came in and started asking questions and asked us how to pray. We taught them how to pray super simply, and then invited the oldest kid to say the closing prayer. It was one of the funniest prayers I have ever heard. It was basically like the prayer Elder Gong talked about in this past general conference. This kid named about 30 things he was grateful for and got a little confused on the ending and said "I speak for Jesus Christ, Amen." Instead of in the name of Jesus Christ amen. But the cool thing is, is it touched the heart of the mom and she invited us back without us asking. So I'm super excited about this family!
I hope everyone is having a blessed Holiday season and remembering what this season is all about and remembering to keep Christ in Christmas and remembering to Light the World!
I love y'all,
Elder Jorgensen
Pics:
1. My sack lunches for my homeless friends
2. Me and Elder Casey
