Sacramento Week 10

Dear Family & Friends,

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns... so is a mission! We got a surprise phone call Friday night and Sister Zenger had to pack her bags and leave Saturday morning for a different area. This emergency transfer affected four companionships of sisters from various areas of the mission. I got a new companion and her name is Sister Cleverly! She has been out on her mission for 6 months and she is from Fort Collins, Colorado. The past few days have been a bit stressful because I've had to "lead" our area- plan all our appointments and visits, navigate our travels, introduce her to the people we are working with, etc. and I'm not even done training yet! Real transfers are next week so hopefully nothing else drastic happens.

I've learned over the past few days that the Lord doesn't necessarily do what's most effective or efficient, but He does what is best for us. Having an emergency transfer to move around lots of sister missionaries a week and half before the normal transfer date is not the most logical plan, but it's what needed to happen! And the Lord knows our areas and He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need.

Yesterday we had interviews with our mission president and his wife. We had to have a scripture prepared so I shared Matthew 16:24-25, verses my Dad shared in an email to me. I like those verses because they talk about how I need to give up my selfish desires to serve my Savior and how as I continue to lose myself in the work, I will find my purpose for being here in California. I am making the effort to stop focusing on the "I" and "me" and turn outward, like Christ would.

One thing that stood out to me in the interview was when President Lewis looked me directly in the eye and said "Sister Jorgensen, are you enjoying your mission?" It caught me off guard! Of course I am enjoying it but I've been really stressed the past few days and I think I have forgotten the importance of "enjoying the journey". Yes President Lewis, I AM enjoying my mission and I know I will continue to find joy in this work as I remember why I'm here- because I love my Savior and I want others to feel that. I need to enjoy each and every day here in Sacramento because I never know when it'll be my last!

Before Sister Zenger left, we had another really great lesson with Ivan and Belin. Unfortunately, they still haven't been to church and we are having problems with getting Dakota there too. As a missionary there is only so much we can do to encourage them and promise them blessings, but in the end, they have to make the choice to come. Going to church is so essential to their conversion! We also met with a less-active member named Michael and his 10 year old son who hasn't been baptized yet. We had a short powerful lesson about the importance of praying together as a family and we committed them to pray together every day. We also had a good discussion about how as we pray for things, it doesn't change God, but it changes us. As we got up to leave, Michael told us how thankful he was that we stopped by and gave them something to work on together. Made me feel like we accomplished something!

We've been continuing to have Family Home Evening lessons with members of our ward and we have been teaching a really cool lesson about the Brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. We talk about the Brother of Jared's faith in preparing stones so the finger of the Lord could touch them, so they could have light along their journey to the Promised Land. Our families are like those "barges" or boats they used to travel across the sea. We need stones to light our way too, something to save us when we feel like we can't stay afloat in the storms of life. So we use "CPR"- Church, Pray, Read. Those small "stones", going to church, praying together, and reading the scriptures, give us the light we need to be strong as we endure our journey on this Earth back to the Promised Land, or Heaven.

"And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them... and they did have light continually" (Ether 6:10). No matter what twists and turns life throws at us, we can stay strong if we focus on those small and simple things that keep us mindful of the Lord.

This week we also got to prune some trees for a family in our ward. That was an adventure! And we found 2 new investigators so this week, especially with Sister Cleverly here, is going to be exciting! I'll write more about my new companion next week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I love and miss you!
Love,
Sister Jorgensen

P.S. Pics are of pruning trees with Sister Zenger and a girl named Noelia in our ward who just got her mission call to Mexico! The other is my new companion Sister Cleverly