Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Christmas week! It's so crazy that its 2 days away from Christmas already!
This week has had its bumps, but there was definitely some really really really fun and hilarious times.
This week we had Zone Conference and it was so enlightening and really good! There were two things that were shared that were so so good.
1. Whenever we see the word "GIVE" we sometimes automatically associate it with the word "GIFT." So whenever we see the word "GIVE" in the scriptures we can switch it with the word "GIFT." And then we were told that when we are "GIVEN" commandments, we are actually "GIFTED" commandments. God gifted commandments to each one of us personally, because he knew they would bless us so much. And when we have the mindset that we are gifted commandment, aren't we more willing to be able to follow them?
2. We were given this question to ponder on and I invite all of you to ponder on this question too, Since Christ gave his all for me, what can I give back to him this Christmas season?
We also had a missionary activity with some members in the Branch this past Saturday. They donated a bunch of little snacks and drinks and then we put little snack bags together and went to a street corner and started handing them out. We also had copies of the Book of Mormon and pamphlets, and it was a really really great activity. I stood on the edge of the street and was the first one to greet the people and it was so much fun! I talked to so many people and I met so many fun and interesting people. But we were able to share a lot of good messages and I felt really really good afterwards!
Here are some really funny things that happened this past week:
1. After we had our zone conference we went and sang Christmas Carols at a Senior Living Center. And it was so much fun talking to my old ladies. The funnies thing was we were talking with them and they kept on saying how "Christmas just isn't the same nowadays. The young people are now getting fake trees and focusing gifts rather than the baby Jesus. And the songs on the radio is crap, these Disc Jokeys never play the old Christmas hymns."
But they were so very appreciative that we came and were so respectful and sang the good ole Chrostmas hymns. There was even an old lady who was crying, I felt so so good. Such a positive and uplifting experience. Joan, Gretchen, Gale and I are pretty much best friends now! :)
2. At the activity we had this Saturday, there was this one sweet old black lady named Ms. Sherrie Carrie, and we instantly became best friends. She was telling me about her family and she shared that she has a grandbaby who has autism. But I shared with her how much I love those children and how they truly are celestial children. And so we immediately bonded over that and then as she was leaving I told her to tell her grandbaby that I love her, and she said, you already know I was going too!
3. Also at the activity there was this homeless man that hung around with us the whole time. And he was just being weird, but it was pretty funny. And then right before we left one of his friends came over and he challenged him to a rap battle. So we had to white homeless men having a rap battle, so I laid down a beat for them and they went at it. It was so so funny, about as good as you could expect from two white homeless men. Lines that didn't make sense at all, but they rhymed so, it's considered rap. And we were all getting so into it, we were hyping them up like nobody's business, and it just made me laugh!
4. Also at the activity on Saturday, I had two other men sing for me, and one of them even did a little dance. And then there was another lady who just gave me a hug out of nowhere when I told her what we were doing! Oh man, I love the people of Baltimore!
5. At our Zone Conference during lunch, we just saw our mission President running down the hall like he was on a mission. He then came into the gym a couple of minutes later in a full blown santa costume. (So just imagine for a second an African man running around in a Santa costume.) And my favorite part was, he was running around saying in his accent, "Black Santa is here, to bring you presents because I love you, hehehe!" Best mission president ever!
Love you all and Merry Christmas,
Elder Jorgensen
Pics:
1. Our activity
2. Black Santa
3. La Rama Alameda
4. Our table again, and a photoshopped santa joined us!
