Hermana Ashlyn Jorgensen: HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

May 5, 2014

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

holy cow. good week down here on the shore of jersey!

This week entailed I'M A WHOLE YEAR OLD!!!! 2 packages from my sweet sister and family, an exchange down to Toms River, Zone Conference, 4 NEW investigators, 3 at church, and 1 less active that I have worked with the whole time (6 months) I have been here to get to church and she FINALLY came!!!!!!!!!

My exchange down to Toms River with another missionary was good. That was on my 1 year mark! That was the 1st time that I taught in English.. EVER... not really sure how I feel about it. It was a struggle. Well no it wasn't, I just felt like I didn't ever know when to stop. Like with Spanish its just no fluff just straight to the point, and in English its like.. uhhhh sorry I just spoke for like 15 minutes straight and you have NO idea what I just said cause it was so.. not on topic haha anyways something that I LOVED though was I got to go to a ward correlation in English.. I've been in a branch my whole mission.. and there isn't any work being done. So I went and literally my mind was blown how the ward is so interested and so involved and so eager to help make this work push forward! It made me so excited to go home and work with the missionaries and our ward!

That leads to my branch's progression. We have had numerous hours of meetings with the branch and with just the missionaries to think of a plan to help support this branch because it is going down hill... With much praying and seeking revelation we have come up with a plan to help this branch.. not with missionary work, but with BEING MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH! We already gave a training and proposed our idea to the presidency, and in 3 weeks we have a training with all the auxiliary leaders in this branch to train them in their roles as to who they are in their calling. Then we are going from house to house and setting goals and plans to help put forward this plan of all becoming unified.. it is seriously so draining and SO much work. The branch is depending on us...6, 19 and 20 year olds, but oh is it worth it. My heart just aches for some of these people that grow up in the church but haven't had a solid church experience where they know they can rely on each other and see a functioning branch family. My love for these members literally is indescribable, I cant ever put words to how much love I have for the Hispanic culture. These people literally, literally I just have a totally different outlook on them. Thank you to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to understand them, and to be able to serve them. I'm not even kidding you when I say I'm coming back to hang out with aunt Arlene all day EVERYDAY! tell she can teach me Spanish :) hahah

We had zone conference this week. It was our Mission Presidents last one ever! HOLY COW! I cant believe he is gone in less than 2 months.. it literally makes me cry thinking about it. He is PERFECT. He is the most Christlike human being to ever walk the planet. At zone conference the spirit was SO strong l literally just cried I think the whole time. It was on my year mark! It was cool, and a Sister that came out with me in may 2013 went home after 5 months.. she just came back out 4 days ago, and her first night they put her with us because she needed to go to this zone conference so she needed to stay somewhere, and wow it truly made me open my heart and thank my Heavenly Father that I stayed on my mission, because that would of been SO HARD to come back out. Honestly couldn't of done it.

Sister Duke and I found 4 new Investigators!

1. Guadalupe (Mexico)

2. Alfonso (Ecuador)

3. Sebastion (Spain)

4. David (Colombia)

5. Josue (El Salvador)

Sister Duke is literally amazing. She is a hard worker and is super obedient. She has A LOT of faith and a HUGE testimony about blessings coming when we are obedient! She is such a gem, and truly makes this work enjoyable! Now we aren't quite sure if half of them are interested in our message.. or the messengers.. hah yeah.. our favorite but we establish our purpose and bring team ups and let the Lord establish if they progress for the right reasons or not! Ya know I hate when they like the messengers more.. I'm like seriously what good do we got going on for us over here with these mid calf skirts and sleeved shirts! ALRIGHT I GET IT! its the spirit..we know it ;)

I was studying this week His Grace is Sufficient by Brad Wilcox and I literally cant get over this talk, especially this paragraph, it says, "The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but, brothers and sisters, no unchanged thing will even want to. "

Holy cow. I need to change. Changing is so uncomfortable but honestly it is the only thing that God requires us to do. Change to who he wants us to become.. Is that to much to ask for? YES! haha kidding.. sometimes it seems like so, but we need to understand that it is because Heavenly Father loves us so much and wants us to return so he has a plan, we just need to change our course to His!! but guess what.. ITS HARD TO DO SO! but nothing in this life was easy. The most simple and kindest act that our Heavenly Father has ever done for us was send his Son to suffer for us.. hard. So there we have it, our example, our Savior, our Redeemer, and our older brother has done hard things, I think we can to!

Yeah why don't I take my own advice? hahah its even HARD to do that! but I'm trying! I'm learning and trying to apply... not as easy as I want it to be!

anyways, let this scripture carry your week!

- 2nd Timothy 1:78" For God hath not given us the spirit of ^afear; but of ^bpower, and of ^clove, and of a sound mind."

I love you all! literally you ARE PERFECT. talk to you on Sunday :)

love hermana Jorgensen xoxx

ps. I'm singing in front of people at a zone meeting like 25ish or more.. hahah what has gotten into me? no I didn't choose to I got asked.. I wanna throw up I'm so nervous hahah

The sister that just came back out, and me and sister duke on my year mark