SP Barcelona- Rio Acima Letter 16

Dear Family & Friends,

Luiz Carlos came to church yesterday!!! YAY! He is really progressing. He has trouble reading but we've been reading with him and teaching him slowly so he understands everything. He told us that we are angels sent from God helping him change his life! Woohoo! Eduardo (recent convert) has been doing awesome at being his friend this past week. He's been helping us teach him. I am so happy with this!

We have another investigator on date for baptism November 8th: Murilo. He is 15 years old, the son of a less-active named Ivone that we found street contacting. She moved here recently so we didn't have her on our ward list. It was a miracle we found her because she didn't have the courage to go to church on her own. The youth in the ward are doing a great job of interacting with Murilo and inviting him to activities. He loves the Book of Mormon and is really excited about baptism!

On Tuesday all the missionaries in our zone (about 20 of us) went to one area to do a "Blitz" to help out the other sisters. Each companionship was in charge of a road and we had about 3 hours to contact people and find as many new investigators as possible. Sister R. Santos and I found some really neat families and put 2 people on date for baptism! That day was certainly a powerful and productive day of missionary work for this area. It was a good experience! United our zone, helped the other sisters, and we learned that we can accomplish ALOT in just a few hours.

"And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence..." (Jacob 1:19)

This scripture really jumped out at me during my personal study this morning. We always talk about being more diligent missionaries, but I have never thought about teaching more diligently. How can I teach more diligently? I can ask more inspired questions, listen better. I can seek to follow the Spirit in discerning what our investigator needs. I can explain scriptures and testify more. I realized today that I truly have a responsibility to "teach with all diligence", teach every person to the best of my ability to they can understand. I must continue to do my best to teach simply, boldly, and with love. I must continue to pray and study for the needs of my investigators so they can feel and learn through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I am so grateful to have this chance to serve the Lord and teach His gospel! I am learning so much and seeking to be a better missionary each and every day. It's not easy but it's so worth it. We had so many moments of pure happiness this week. Pure happiness for me is seeing my companion happy. She's not one to express joy, but when she finally does, I can't help but smile!!! Sister R. Santos is an incredible missionary and I am so thankful for the chance to be serving with her.

I hope you all have a great week! Just have to thank each and every one of you for your love and support. Love and miss you all!

Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen

P.S. Pics... I CUT MY HAIR!!!!! I feel at least 50 lbs lighter and so free! And I hit my 13 month mark this week. And 6 months in Brazil. WOOHOOOO!

SP Barcelona- Rio Acima Letter 15

Dear Family & Friends,

This was a really, really good week! This week was AWESOME! Still melting and baking in the brazilian sun, but hey, we are on fire in more ways than one! We had a district meeting about using every possible opportunity to teach and it really pumped us up. We taught over 60 lessons this week! And we've been working on inviting everyone to be baptized with a specific date on the first contact. Sounds crazy? Oh, it is. It's kind of thrilling! This is thrill in the life of a missionary. Conquering our fears. 

We have to take advantage of every moment to give people the chance to change their lives for the better. I have no doubt that there are people all around us right here, right now, ready to accept the gospel and be baptized. Here's proof:

Tereza was a referral. Sweet older lady who has super strong faith but really doesn't want anything to do with the church. She wanted help for her 30 year old son Luiz, who is recovering from addictions. First visit he stayed in his room and didn't want to talk to us. Second visit, even after much coaxing and persuasion, he still stayed in his room. Then, when it came time to pray at the end, he came out. He told us he had been listening, how he wanted to read the Book of Mormon, how he wanted more than anything to change. It was a very humbling moment and the Spirit was strong. So what did we do? We invited him to change his life and put him on date for baptism in that instant. November 8th. It's going to be the best day of his entire life. And guess what... HE PRAYED AT THE END!!!! I'm so excited to teach him more!

We found a 19 year old less-active named Julio a few weeks ago who told us he had been feeling like the missionaries would visit him that day. He felt like everyone had forgot about him, and this visit was what he needed to have the desire to return to church. We were sad when he didn't come to church last week, but he came yesterday!!! Wooohooo! He even took out his earrings and was wearing a suit! Best part. He brought his girlfriend Sabrina. And we're teaching her tonight!

We had one another investigator at church yesterday. His name is Otavio. Sister R. Santos street contacted him in another area when we had exchanges this week. She tried to get his address but he was being stubborn and wouldn't give it. We found him again on Saturday (there are no coincidences!) and he ended up telling us his whole life story about how he lost his wife and how he doesn't know what happiness is anymore. He still wouldn't give us his address so we said "If you want happiness, meet us at church tomorrow". He told us that if we weren't out front waiting for him exactly at 9am, he would turn around and go home (haha this man really is a funny one). We kept our end of the deal and there he was. He stayed for all 3 hours and loved the Gospel Principles lesson about Eternal Marriage. Perfect. We are going to be teaching him this week!

As you can see, Heavenly Father is really blessing us ALOT! We have been working so hard and we are so exhausted. But it's all worth it. 

I gave a talk in church yesterday about missionary work, how Christ was the perfect missionary. I love Matthew 4:19 when the He says, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men". Key word "I". HE will help us. HE will qualify us. This is HIS work. I got lots of compliments on my talk so I think everyone was able to understand what I was saying. I hope so! It was a good experience for me and I learned a lot preparing for it.

I know my Savior lives and He is helping me be a valiant missionary every day. This week was truly a week of valiance for us! When we show the Lord we are willing to work, He blesses us. It's that simple! So happy and excited for this upcoming week! More miracles!!!

Love and miss you all!

Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen

P.S. Pics from the Campinas temple that I wasn't able to include last week and a family we are teaching. Rita, the daughter of a less-active, just turned 8! We are helping her family return to church and preparing her for baptism. 

SP Barcelona- Rio Acima Letter 13 & 14

Dear Family & Friends,

Did you all miss my email last week??! I missed writing! I hope everyone is doing well. We had a surprise temple trip and got back late. So here is my past 2 weeks in a flash:

First, I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE! All the missionaries serving in the interior (about half the mission) got to go to the Campinas Temple for our Pday. This is why I didn't have time to email last week. I feel so lucky because this is the 4th temple I have visited during my mission (Provo, Sacramento, and São Paulo are the others). It was SO beautiful! Perfect spiritual upliftment for me. Just what I needed! I am so grateful for the temple. The temple truly is the house of the Lord, the closest place to heaven on Earth.

General Conference was great! I have to admit it was a bit different listening to everything in Portuguese. I missed hearing the power in Elder Holland's voice! But it was neat to hear the talks of our prophet and apostles translated live. All the music was still in English so everyone was asking me what the words meant haha. The theme that stood out to me from the talks was that of knowing for yourself, gaining your own testimony. This was perfect for the 3 investigators we had watching with us at the church building. I really enjoyed conference!

Last Sunday was Election Day here in Brazil. Posters and flyers EVERYWHERE. There were a few roads where you couldn't even see the sidewalk. The roads with the schools, where people voted, were the worst. Here in Brazil, everyone over the age of 16 votes. It's a law. If you don't vote, you have to pay R$3 (about $1.50). Not alot of money, but kind of riduculous! I thought that was interesting. I'm not sure who won the election and I'm not sure if people are happy or sad about what happened. I don't really understand politics, especially in another country!

The weather has been SO hot. I have no idea how many degrees it is, all I know is that I have not stopped sweating for days. There is no air conditioning anywhere. And fans can only do so much! And guess what, it's only October. It's still spring. Which means summer is going to be even worse. I think back to my high school cross-country days running in the heat. This prepared me! Also it seems like all the bugs have come out to play. Lots and lots of bugs! But it can always be worse, so I will put on a smile and "keep swimming" -like my mom always says, but now, in my own sweat :)

Yesterday was "Dia das Crianças", (day of kids) a special holiday for all the children under 12. I think this is just so cool! They have parties and the kids get presents. I know my little sister Addi would love this! All the primary kids got treat bags at church. Super cute!

Yesterday at church Sister R. Santos and I taught the lesson in Relief Society (the class for the women) about missionary work and the "fruit", or blessings of the gospel, in our lives. The lesson turned out really good! My companion shared her conversion story and had everyone in tears. She was baptized because of her friend. We as members don't realize the impact we can have on just one person! And just one person can affect generations of others. During the lesson, when I looked around at all the moms and ladies in our ward, I felt so much love for them. I love Rio Acima! These people are my family.

These past few weeks have been awesome! We've been having investigators at church and we have a few on date for baptism. We will keep working hard and I know the Lord will continue to bless us!

I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!
Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen

P.S. I had some great pics to share this week but the computer doesn't like my camera today. Next week, I promise!

SP Barcelona- Rio Acima Letter 12

Dear Family & Friends,

What a week! This week was super busy and it went by really fast. First of all, we got our transfer calls today and I'll be staying here to finish training Sister R. Santos. I'm excited for another 6 weeks with her here in Rio Acima! Also, Thursday was my 1 year mark! Crazy, I know. I can hardly believe it's even possible that I've been on my mission for ONE ENTIRE YEAR. 

It rained almost every day this week so that was a bit frustrating, but we were still able to get lots of things done. It seemed like every time the rain came down really hard, Heavenly Father prepared a home for us to enter and people to teach. No doubt He's looking out for these two little sister missionaries here in Rio Acima!

On Wednesday we had another zone conference and President Farnes taught us about being "consecrated" missionaries and giving everything to the Lord. We watched the video clip from "Facing the Giants" when Brock crosses the entire football field with another player on his back. President Lewis, my mission president back in Sacramento, showed us this same clip in a zone conference there. I guess the Lord really wants me to understand the potencial I have as a missionary and the power of my best effort. It was interesting watching the clip again, putting myself in Brock's place, just as I did nearly 5 months ago. And now, watching it in Portuguese! I know, with Heavenly Father's help, that I can continue to give my best effort every minute of every day and never throw in the towel because it's too hard. The Savior gives me the strength to keep progressing as a missionary, keep helping my area grow, and keep encouraging Sister R. Santos every step of the way.

On Thursday we had a noite familiar with an awesome family we found, Aline and Heber. We watched "Finding Faith in Christ" in a member's home and it was a very good experience for them. They loved it! If you haven't watched that movie recently, watch it this week. It's so good! And even better in Portuguese :) Unfortunately Aline and Heber are moving to Rio de Janiero this weekend. A bit frustrating because we were super excited about them, but hey, they'll be miracles for the missionaries in Rio. 

I was reflecting on this past year in the mission field and all the things I am learning, and one thing that stood out in my mind is WHY I am here on my mission:

"When we understand WHY our Heavenly Father has given us this pattern for living [and missionary work], when we remember WHY we committed to making it a foundational part of our lives, the gospel [and my mission] ceases to become a burden, and instead becomes a joy and a delight. It becomes precious and sweet" -President Dieter F. Utchdorf, Forget Me Not, October 2011 (read this talk, it's great!)

I did not dedicate 18 months of my life to serve the Lord because anyone forced me. I did not leave my family, my friends, my country, my language, and the comforts of home because I wanted to go "sight seeing" (if this was the case, I would have quit after the 7 months in California haha). I am here on my mission today because I love my Heavenly Father and the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel truly has blessed my family and I have such JOY in knowing that my family can be together forever. This is what I want to share with the world. It doesn't matter where I have served or where I am serving now, the joy and happiness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the same. It changes hearts! It changes lives! I am so grateful for all the experiences I have had during my mission until now. I am thankful for the time I spent in California and for my two areas here in Brazil. I am learning and growing so much! Truly, serving a mission was the best decision I ever made. So excited for the next 6 months!!!! IT'S GAME TIME!!!!

I'm so excited for General Conference this weekend! Watch it with a question in mind and I can promise you that you will hear and feel something just for you. This is the beauty of hearing from the Lord's servants, our prophet and apostles. Happy Conference!

Love you all!

Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen

P.S. Tuesday we had exchanges with the sister training leaders again and I had the priviledge of being Sister Vaughn's last exchange. She goes home tomorrow! I am going to miss her so much. She'll be at BYU so it won't be goodbye forever! She is an awesome missionary. Oh and I forgot to mention that this week I got my "trunky papers" (info I have to fill out about addresses and phone numbers) with my return date of March 18th. Crazy! But this doesn't mean I am counting down. I've still got lots to do and lots to learn!

SP Barcelona-Rio Acima Letter 11

Dear Family & Friends,

We found lots of new families to teach this week and I am really excited! We have been visiting all the people on our ward list that we don't know and we are finding miracles! We met a man named José Antonio, who was baptized when he was a teenager and shortly after didn't return to church. Now we are teaching him, his non-member wife Adriana and 14 year old son Leandro! My favorite moment was when José Antonio thanked us for visiting him and helping his family. Made my heart smile :)

I have a huge testimony of using the ward list to find people to teach. There are many people that were baptized years ago that no one knows about. The moment someone is baptized into the church, their name is kept so "that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God" (Moroni 6:4). Every single person who is baptized immediately joins the ward (congregation) "family". Every member of our family in Rio Acima is important and we are here to rescue them and bring them back into the fold, just as Christ taught us to love the "one". I truly feel my duty as a missionary is to get to know every person on our ward list. That way, we can work WITH the members. We can help reactivate those who have stopped coming to church, and find families where many are non-members. This is how we are building the kingdom of God here in this little part of Brazil the Lord has trusted us with, Rio Acima. 

Feeling very blessed and grateful today. Grateful for the chance to serve in this area, grateful for my companion, grateful for all the people we have to teach. Heavenly Father has been blessing us a lot! This week wasn't all rainbows and flowers, but it was a good week and we have lots of reasons to be grateful. I know the Lord will continue to prepare people for us to baptize. He is truly laboring with us!

Something funny I thought you all would enjoy: Tic tac toe in Portuguese is called "Jogo da velha", which means, "game of the old lady" (hahaha)

Sorry I didn't have much to share this week. Short on time! Have a great week everyone! Love and miss you all! 

Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen

P.S. Pic of our zone activity today with the other missionaries in Barcelona. We played volleyball and soccer. I am not an athletic person, and playing with Brazilians makes me feel even less athletic, but hey, it's still fun! The other is a noite familiar (family night) we had about Family History. We are each holding up country flags that were the wrappers of chocolates we did an activity with.

SP Barcelona - Rio Acima Letter 10

Dear Family & Friends,

Happy Monday! Best news of the week: Eduardo (recent convert) went to the temple for the first time on Saturday and loved it!!!! He had an incredible experience doing baptisms and he said it was unlike anything else he has ever felt in his life. YIPPEEE!!! So happy for him!! Whenever I am having a moment of disappointment, I think about Eduardo and how much the gospel has changed his life. I know there are more people like Eduardo out there, we just have to find them!

I learned something interesting this week. In the gospel we always talk about how faith is the foundation for everything, the first step. But I'm realizing that there is something more that has to happen before we can have faith: Everything starts with desire. Desire produces faith. Faith produces action. Desire is what makes an incredible (and may I suggest valiant!) missionary different from a good missionary. A sincere desire to serve Heavenly Father, to help His children, to do His will. Desire. Never have I realized just how profound this word is.

Not only have I learned how important my desire is, but the desire others have to change. Desire. This is what separates the "elect", the "golden", from all the other people we talk to and teach. Those who are ready to receive the gospel and act on it. This was our battle this week: finding those who have a sincere desire, not those who just like our visits because they feel good listening to the word of God. So how do we help people have this desire to act on their faith? This is a work in progress.

It's amazing what people can do when they really want something. For example, understanding my Portuguese. I've been here for about 4 and a half months now so I can understand most of the things people say. But can people understand me? That's a different story. Remember I have a very strong accent! (kind of funny to think about people from other countries speaking English with a heavy accent, now this is me in Brazil with Portuguese). I don't speak perfectly but I can speak sufficiently! I've noticed that if people have the desire to understand what I am saying, they will understand. If they don't want to understand, if they look at me like I am a crazy alien and look to my companion to translate, then they won't understand me. And we know they aren't ready! It's not so much that people understand every word I say, it's that they are understanding with their hearts. This is most important of all. Feeling the power of our words through the Spirit.

Remember the family of José and Rosangela from my little victory story last week? We brought a member to one of the lessons this week. Carla (member) wrote her testimony in a Book of Mormon and gave it to them during the lesson- it was awesome!! She also invited the family to an activity at her house and to church on Sunday. Unfortunately Rosangela and José had to move houses (don't worry, still in our area) so they weren't able to go, but I know that invite made a huge impact. When members invite, it is SO much more powerful than the missionaries. Truly, you members are the full-time missionaries. We're just here to help! This family will be baptized. Not sure when, but it's going to happen, I can feel it. This is our desire!!!

"Behold, thou art [Sister Jorgensen] and I have spoken unto thee because of thy DESIRES... Be faithful, and diligent in keeping the commandments of God and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love" (Doctrine and Covenants 6:20) This whole section is awesome.

This was a tender mercy verse for me this week. Lots of ups and downs, but I don't need to worry, because I'm encircled in the arms of my Father in Heaven! He is granting us little victories every day! 

Remember, with a desire, you can do anything. LOVE YOU ALL!

Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen

P.S. Some fun pics from the week. I really love my companion! So grateful for the true desire she has to serve. She's helping me become a better missionary every day!

SP Barcelona- Rio Acima Letter 9

Dear Family & Friends,

"God loves us. He is good, He is our Father, and He expects us to pray, and trust, and be believing, and not give up, and not panic, and not retreat, when something doesn't seem to be going just right" -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

This quote, one that my mom sent me a few weeks ago, has been my rock this week! It seemed like all of our firm investigators dropped us and not a single person we are teaching came to church yesterday. This was after we did absolutely everything we could to get people there. I've never prayed so much in my life! In moments like this, it's easy to lose hope, and wonder what we could be doing wrong. But we will not lose faith! We will stay strong. And I will not panic just because things aren't going how I want them to. The Lord has a plan.

If there is one thing I learned from the first 7 months of my mission in California, it's patience. It wasn't easy to be a visa waiter. It was frustrating not seeing the fruits of our labors. But I learned that everything happens in the Lord's timing. "When you are patient, you hold up under pressure [yes I am feeling lots of pressure] and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully... you must WAIT for the Lord's promised blessings to be fulfilled" (Preach My Gospel, p. 120). I'm holding on to this statement! We are doing our part and I know the Lord will provide the way. 

Just a little shout out to anyone facing adversity this week: Instead of dwelling on everything that is going wrong, let's focus on the little victories we have every day. Here's a "little victory" from yesterday:

We were looking for a former investigator named Simone and decided to ask the neighbor, José, if he knew her. We started talking to him about the church and he ended up inviting us in to meet his wife and son. They told us about a trial they are passing through, with their other son who is heavily involved in drugs. We were able to share the verse in Mosiah 27 that talks about how the prayers of Alma were answered about his son, who was making wrong choices and trying to destroy the church. Heavenly Father always hears the prayers of the righteous. As we were sharing this with them, Rosangela, the wife looked directly at me and said, "I remember you! You and your friend passed me on the street the other day. You said "Hi" to me like you had known me for 10 years. It was so friendly and happy and it made my day! I thought to myself, they must be from a church. And now you are here." I was speechless.

THIS is a victory! Never ever underestimate what a smile or a simple "hello" can do. I had no idea that I had said hi to her. I didn't remember her. But she remembered me. That 1 second moment touched her heart. I am so grateful that I noticed her enough to say hi to her that day. Perhaps because of this moment and because of what we were able to share with them during their trial, this family will join the church. We're going back on Tuesday to teach them! Sister R. Santos and I are so excited!

Yes, there are moments when we feel like everything is falling apart. Moments when we want so much for something to happen and it doesn't. But we can't give up. We can't retreat. We must press forward with faith and valiance, and always remember "Thy will be done". Not what we want, not in our timing, but the Lord´s.

Let's all continue to look for the little victories in each day. Let's recognize the Lord's tender mercies in every minute. We have so much reason to rejoice! This gospel is a gospel of JOY! 

Have a great week! Thanks for all your love and support. I love and miss each and every one of you!

Sempre Sorria,

Sister Jorgensen