Last Blog

Well everyone, if you can believe it, this will be my last blog post as a missionary. Yep, 18 months have passed by so very quickly it's surreal! I wish I could convey the things I have learned and the ways in which I have changed, but then I would have to write a book, haha. I had the opportunity this week to bear my testimony 5 different times, highlighting different lessons learned in each one, and I still couldn't convey it all!

     I truly will miss lots about being a missionary, all the people I have met here, missionaries, members, and investigators. But what I will miss the most is just being a missionary... set apart from the world, my number one focus centered on Christ, everyone recognizing me as His disciple (nametag)... and .being able to talk to anyone and everyone about Christ. But I recognize that I was called on an 18 month mission for a reason - if God wanted me to be a full time missionary forever that is what he would have called me to do. I know I will always be a missionary, but not like how I am right now.  However there are many more wonderful things in store for me and I am truly just beginning again:) One of my favorite quotes says, "Celebrate endings for they precede new beginnings." I know new and exciting things are in store! 

    I would like to leave you with a condensed version of the things that have become soul knowledge on my mission... I testify that God is our loving father in heaven, He sent us here to this earth to learn and to grow. He, and we, knew this life would not be easy, nor was it meant to be. There would be temptations, trials, and adversity; however, our Heavenly Father sent his beloved son Jesus Christ to this earth not only to set the perfect example for us to follow, but to take upon Him all of our sins, sickness, pains, and infirmities. He did that, so we would not have to bear them alone and that we would all have the opportunity to be cleansed and free of sin. I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration and restored in its fullness, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the priesthood, on the earth. Evidence of the miraculous and needed restoration, is the Book of Mormon which Joseph Smith translated through the power and authority of God. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and has helped me to understand my own personal relationship with our Savior. I know we have a prophet on earth today, whose name is Thomas S. Monson. And because of this marvelous restoration and through the priesthood, that power and authority of God, families can be united together for time and all eternity. There are no permanent endings,  all because God loves us, oh, so much, and desires for us not only to make it back to Him, but to have the opportunity to grow and progress and then choose to follow Him. I know these things are true with every fiber of my being, and you can know for yourself as you pray and ask God for yourself! I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Home Monday, October 17, 2016

2 weeks and counting

So, conference was MAGNIFICENT...if you haven't seen it, go and watch it!! Instead of summarizing my top favorite talks (I loved them all), I want to share with you a parable that came to my mind as I was watching conference.

I was pondering on the fact that I have about two weeks left on my mission, and I thought about how excited my family is to have me home, but especially my mom. She is pumped to have me coming back!! I thought for a moment, how would she feel if I gave her a call and told her I had decided not to come home... that I was having fun, I didn't want any responsibilities, but wanted to go see the rest of the world and if I wanted to get in contact with her I would. I thought about this for a moment and imagined how my mom would feel, then the parable hit me.

Now, I would NEVER do that, (don't worry mama I am coming home!), but it made me think of our lives here on earth. Heavenly Father sent us here to learn and to grow, but to ultimately return back to him. Imagine his immense heartache when he sees that one of his children has decided that they don't want to come home, or have begun to take a path that will never bring them to Him again. I cannot comprehend the anguish he feels when we say to him, "No I don't want to keep the commandments...I'm having too much fun. Or, no, I don't want to repent right now, I will do it later. Or, no, I'm too busy, I can't read the scriptures right now." I invite each of you to reflect on the life you are living right now and ask yourself, "am I on the path that will bring me back home to my father in heaven?"

The world is so loud and enticing and its allure will continue to increase. However "be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee wither soever thou goest and .. if thou art prepared thou shall not fear." The most wonderful message about this whole parable (and a huge emphasis in conference) is that change is possible. Not just temporary change, but lasting, eternal change! And that change is made possible through the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. To quote Isaiah "His hand is stretched out still!" 

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Diligence

This week's blog is all about diligence... what it is and why we need it! I have been studying faith partnered with diligence, and what I have found is AMAZING!!!   Faith is a simple doctrine, yet so vast and deep at the same time. I have learned that diligence can be achieved when we take things one step at a time. I saw this MormonAd with a toothbrush with a bunch of toothpaste on it and a quote of, "I think this will be enough for the week". It was pointing out the importance of doing the small and simple things consistently, and over time to produce the desired results. We wouldn't dream of only brushing our teeth once a week, even if we used a whole tube of toothpaste, it is the same with our faith. Faith gives us the ability to be diligent and the power to be patient. We nourish our little seed of faith and then we have to wait. Most times, I think Heavenly Father's greatest lesson for us is to learn to fully rely on him,  and continue to move forward, even if we aren't seeing the results we expected. President Ucthdorf gave a most wonderful talk on faith during the women's broadcast. He taught that faith comes with a price... it takes patience, humility, diligence, and perseverance, however the results are beyond comprehension! Not only are we promised eternal life with our Father in Heaven, having faith allows us to have a happy life here on earth despite the trials and opposition that will occur.  When our faith is rooted firmly in our Savior, we not only have the ability to move mountains, we are given the strength to overcome the spiritual "mountains" of our mortal lives. This week is general conference, I invite each of you to come with a question, exercise that faith, and as you receive an answer, act on it! I know that diligence is not an easy thing, nor was it ever meant to be, however it is completely, 100% worth it!   ~ With Bunches of Love, Sister Jordan Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24 Papillion, NE 68046

Manna from Heaven -

  This week was amazingly eye opening!! I learned so much from the simple things I saw each day. Back story...so Sister Draney, my new companion, has an amazing talent for recognizing gospel lessons in everyday situations, so I made a personal goal of recognizing a parable everyday. And the results were wonderful!!! I will share two of my most favorite parables from this week.

1. I was sitting on our couch looking out onto our balcony(we are on the third floor). And a thought came to my mind, "What if there weren't any railings on that balcony?" We wouldn't sit out here,because of the possibility of us falling. Or, if we did sit out on the balcony without any railings,  we would be soooooooooooooooooooo very careful.

Lesson: The railings on the balcony are like the commandments. At first, they may seem like a limit to our freedom, when in reality, the railings/commandments allow us to be truly free! Not just free but safe as well!

2. This morning after my prayers, I glanced over at Sister Draney and she was kneeling in light! The early morning sun was beginning to come up and she happened to kneel right in the only spot of light in the entire room.

Lesson:As we kneel in prayer and offer our hearts to heavenly Father our lives are filled with light. A light that is discernible!. Light could represent many things, testimony, knowledge, personal revelation, peace. It was so wonderful!!!!

Now, instead of calling it my daily parable, I have changed it to...My Manna from Heaven. They are sweet little moments that pass by so quickly. However, it fills my heart and soul with love and the realization that God is everywhere around me. I invite you to look for your own personal Manna and your eyes will be opened to all the wonderful things Heavenly Father is teaching you!

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Families and Marriage???

So whether I like it or not, the topic of this week, at least for me, personally,  has been the importance of marriage and family. Not that I don't like marriage or family, but as a missionary that hasn't been something I have needed to focus on, at least for myself personally...but that has changed, haha. It started with my studies in Alma chapters 20-26, which is all about Ammon and the sons of Mosiah's and their missionary efforts among the Lamanites. These Lamanites became so converted to the Lord that not only did they bury their weapons of war, some even sacrificed their lives, rather than break the covenant they had made with Heavenly Father.

And a thought came to my mind, "Many of us say that we would die for what we believe!", but I think more important than dying for our beliefs, is living for them. Then the question came, "What can I do to more fully live for what I believe?"

Now you ask, what has this to do with marriage and families??? Everything! Families have been under Satan's attack since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve didn't really have the perfect family, and neither did Lehi and Sarahia, however because of their example and teachings, we have the ability to strengthen our families against Satan's attacks. And that first begins by LIVING what we believe. In Relief Society, we talked about the characteristics of a happy family. Among those were service to others, family prayer, family traditions, physically activity, encouraging language, empathy, finding meaning in negative life experiences and knowledge of family roots. By the way these were all found from google, not church sites!!

It was such a testimony to me of the security of this gospel. Not only do we have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the priesthood, but all of the activities and focuses of our church are meant to strengthen marriages and families. 

I invite each of you to reflect on your life and see what can you do to more fully live what you believe, and then take that matter to prayer. I know that as we reflect on ourselves, not only will we receive an answer on what we can do to improve ourselves, this will also be an answer on what you can do to further strengthen your families. Heavenly Father wants for us to succeed, He loves us and that is exactly why He sent his son, not only to atone for our sins, but to give us the ability to become greater!

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Tough Week

Sooo...this week was one of the worst weeks of my mission. That being said, Heavenly Father filled this week with numerous tender mercies!!!:) Also some new beginnings and spiritual insights as well!!!

So, I had a cold last week, no big deal, except it came back five times stronger this Tuesday as a sinus infection. I had to stay in most of the week, but my wonderful companion took very good care of me. And there were a ton more blessings that came my way. I have learned a lesson in patience...again...I went through various waves of feeling better to feeling horrible and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't well already. And I realized everything happens for a reason and to look for the lesson in my being sick. It was very hard because when a missionary is sick, our entire work gets put on hold, our people go unseen and others go unfound because we have to be home. I felt frustrated because all I wanted to do was to be out and no matter what I tried, I stayed sick all week long. Then it hit me, Heavenly Father doesn't need me, that this work will still go on without me... that have the privilege to be used as an instrument in God's hands, that the experiences I have, are meant to build my testimony and conviction, and sometimes that happens when you are in bed all week:)

Now for the new beginnings and spiritual insights... I am getting a new companion this week, her name is Sister Draney and she is just a bucket full of sunshine.  She has only been our for about 6 months, but has been called to be a sister training leader here in Papillion, and I am SOOOO EXCITED!!! Also, with this being my last transfer (vomit;)), I have been reflecting on the changes I have made and how I want to be able to finish strong and with no regrets, and I came across this quote from Elder Holland, "Cherish everyday you've been given." And that is my plan cherish the infinite moments and the hard times, the tender mercies, and rough patches that come with this wonderful experience of a mission!:)

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Heartbreak in the field -

This week was a bit of a heartbreak week. All of those wonderful amazing miracles I shared these past couple of weeks, all of those people dropped us. :(  For one reason or another, none of them were ready to make a real commitment. Then, on top of that,I got sick (hahaha), but never fear, there is a lesson in every trial.

I have learned to embrace trial and opposition. They are essential to our progression and it is how we become better. Especially because I have been trying to focus on developing humility. Going through opposition helps us to recognize our dependence on the Lord and gives us a chance to recognize the little things God has given us.

So here are a couple little blessings from this week:  (1) being able to real time chat with Trae, especially because we are both missionaries now... (2) making funfetti cake with a 5 year old named Aria... and (3) President Gardner brought us mint oreo milkshakes because I was sick. There were so many more little tender mercies for which I am so very grateful for. And as it says in Mosiah 24:15 "Submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord". That is the test of this life, and I know we are never in it alone!!

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

CALLING AUDIBLES - due to unforeseen circumstances

So, this week was a week full of calling audibles. For those of you who aren't too familiar with football, calling an audible is when the QB changes the play right in the moment, due to unforeseen circumstances. So, this week we were challenged to call an audible if the person who we were teaching wasn't prepared for what we had planned. I sort of dreaded this commitment, because I LOVE planning and I don't like it one bit when I have to change those plans, and just go with the flow of things. But I agreed, so Heavenly Father provided me with many opportunities!

Opportunity #1: This week we had the chance to have a lesson with Eric (guy with the cool car from the miracles last week). We were planning on teaching him the Plan of Salvation. Everything was going well, our member showed up, he had kept his previous commitment, he was loving understanding "why we are here" and "where we came from". Then, here it came, he asked us a question about commandments and the Word of Wisdom. Knowing that he did smoke and drink, I called an audible right there! We didn't end up finishing teaching the lesson we had had planned, instead, we were guided and gave the lesson he needed.

Opportunity #2: Another lesson with our miracle find last week, the young couple with a baby. Again, everything was going as planned, our member came, the spirit was there...and then...they said they had not read 3 Nephi 11 (their past commitment). So..audible called! We, then, proceeded to introduce the Book of Mormon, read 3 Nephi 11 with them, and emphasized the importance of scripture study and keeping commitments.

 

Both of those lessons, though different than what we had planned for, or expected were so very powerful! They were 100% guided by the spirit, and in both lessons, we were able to point out the presence of the Spirit and teach them about the importance of recognizing the Spirit, so they could gain their own answers. I like this calling audible thing, it's like a trust fall. Trusting but not knowing, for sure, someone will be there to catch you, and then realizing that as I put my trust completely in God's hands, He will always provide, and make situations even better than anything I could ever imagine!

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Miracles and Families

Miracles and families... miracles and families... temples and the priesthood... yay temples and the priesthood... yay yayy yayyy!!! That is a little song I made up all about the wonderfulness of this week!! It begins last Monday. We had the opportunity to go over to our mission president's house and have a conference call with Elder Donaldson who is head of the missionary department in Salt Lake. We discussed planning and the importance of families in the gospel. He also helped answer some questions we had about how to effectively find those who are prepared. It was awesome being able to learn from him. Sister Youngberg and I went home and made goals on how we were going to apply these new things we had learned, and the results were absolutely miraculous!!

Miracle #1: We had decided to go and talk with people at the park. It was crazy hot and so there weren't too many people there. The first guy we talked too wasn't very interested. Guy #2 however, decided to listen. He was fishing with chicken liver(yuck) but was open to hearing our message. He had opened up and and told us that it was the 1 year anniversary of his son passing away. We then taught him the message of the restoration with an emphasis on priesthood and families. We asked him what would it mean to him if he could know his family could be together forever. He said "I would be the richest man on earth, I wouldn't need any money at all!" We invited him to be baptized, which he accepted and to say the closing prayer. With a bit of hesitation, he said the most sincere, heartfelt prayer I have heard! Afterwards, we asked him how he felt, he said, "I'm usually a pretty happy guy, but I feel FANTASTIC!!!!'' We have an appointment to see him tonight!:)

Miracle #2: Sister Youngberg and I were tracting and this really nice, shiny black car drives by and pulls into the driveway across from us. We decide to go and talk with him. We taught him the Restoration and invited him to be baptized as well, he accepted and we set up an appointment to see him this week. We didn't think too much more about it. Then on Saturday we realized we hadn't invited him to church, so we shot him a text. He responded,"This may sound crazy, but I think we met for a reason the other day. I am open minded and interested in learning more. I haven't been to church in a really long time and so I am nervous to come this week."  We set up a church tour, which he came to and loved!!! We will be seeing him Tuesday!

Miracle #3: We were walking back to our car after trying to visit someone who wasn't home and we saw a lady playing in the grass with her baby on her front lawn. We gave each other "the look" and headed over to talk to her. She enthusiastically accepted our invitation to hear our message and about two minutes later her husband came and listened too!! Though they don't have too much of a religious background, they want to have that guarantee that they can be with their families forever. They both accepted the invitation to be baptized and said they were going to begin reading the Book of Mormon as as family that night!!! We will be seeing them Wednesday!!!!

 

Sooooo many wonderful opportunities this week to bring the hope of the gospel to soooo many families. Heavenly Father is preparing people to receive this message, not just here, but everywhere!!!:D

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

MIRACLES in the storm

I would like to share a most wonderful miracle from this week. Here is a little bit of background...so Sister Youngberg and I have been trying for the past couple of week to find people who are prepared, ready, and searching for the gospel, and we have not found one yet. But we keep on going, talking to everyone, sharing our testimonies, searching. This week was the mission leadership council where we council together with the mission president on how we can work better and more effectively. So what we came up with was a mission wide finding activity. All of the missionaries in our mission(90 companionships) would all go out on Thursday night from 6-9 and focus solely on finding. Now, to be honest, I was a bit nervous about this finding activity, three hours only finding??? I was scared that we would not be able to find anyone, given our past experiences. As I tried to prepare myself for this activity, I was reminded of a story in the Bible, in Mark chapter 9. In summary, there was a man with a very sick child, he brought his child to the disciples to be healed. Sadly nothing they did worked, the man's son was still sick. Christ comes and asks the man, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." The man responds, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief." Me like this man, believed that through God, all things are possible, however, I still had unbelief. I was hesitant to put my trust in the Lord especially because in the past, things did not turn out the way I expected. But I prayed for strength and for this experience to be faith building and wonderful, whether or not I saw any miracles.

Thursday came, and we had a conference call to set some goals: Teach the message of the Restoration 3 times, hand out 2 copies of the Book of Mormon and invite 1 person to be baptized. These were some good goals, they would stretch us, but were also achievable. We are getting ready to leave our apartment, and the tornado siren goes off!! We call our mission president and he tells us the tornado is not close to us, and to just be on the look out. So, out we went, so pumped and ready, surprisingly, not even scared. The rain was pouring down, but Sister Youngberg and I were laughing! Laughing because out of all of the days that this could happen, it happens exactly when we as a mission decide to do this huge finding activity. Stupid Satan was trying to stop us, and that was not going to happen! With renewed courage and determination we went to find those prepared people!! By the end of the night, we were soaked, like literally it was as if we had taken a 15 minute shower with our clothes on, haha! But, oh, so many miracles.  Not only were we able to find people to teach, we exceeded our goals! We taught the message of the Restoration 6 times, handed out 6 copies of the Book of Mormon, and invited 7 people to be baptized, 4 of which accepted a firm date. And that is not all! The next morning we had a follow up conference call to share some of the amazing miracles we had experienced as a mission, and there were many!! All together, we taught the message of the Restoration 308 times, Shared 281 copies of the Book of Mormon, and set 109 people for baptism!!!!!!

This gospel is rolling forth to fill the nations and I can testify that "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, the truth of God will go forth boldly and nobly!"

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

August 1 - FAITH overcomes fear

Everyone who we have been talking to recently, has so much fear about the condition our world is in socially right now, and fear of what more is to come. So, I have been studying and trying to figure out what it was that I needed to learn to further provide guidance and peace, then yesterday at church, it hit me!

It was fifth Sunday and so everyone was combined and Bishop Bentley led the discussion. He began by asking us, what things does the world throw at us that is breaking up our families. People said things like skewed priorities, worldliness, unbridled passions, pride, giving into the natural man and many more. As we discussed these various problems, I began to think of how I personally had seen these things and began to feel a little overwhelmed. I realized that all of these things, these temptations are surrounding us constantly and they are loud and extremely pushy. I began to feel a bit scared, as I realized all that was surrounding not just me, but everyone I loved. Then, the moment of peace and clarity came as Bishop said, "So many things pull us away from God and try to yank us from His presence, it is our covenants that we make that bind us to God and provides us with the power to combat the ills of the world." I sat for a moment and pondered on this. Yes, I knew that covenants were important and good, but up until that moment the importance of covenants was just head knowledge, and as I recognized more fully the blessings and purpose of covenants, what I knew moved from my head to my heart.

I began to think of all the things we promise through covenants of baptism, as well as the temple, to always remember Christ, obedience, consecration, purity and then the promised blessings of power, peace, and the Spirit to be with us always.

Through sacred covenants such as baptism and temple ordinances, we qualify for full protection of the evils of the world. And partnered with daily scripture study and prayer, is exactly how we can meet any opposition, temptation, or fear with courage, not compromise.

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Sometimes, I do not know how to begin each of my blogs... I try and think of something catchy and creative, different than what I said the week before... but honestly this week has been wonderful!!  - Just like how I always say, haha!!! The only downside is it was like 105 plus humidity...that was so not wonderful.

Some highlights:  we went down to Lincoln for a day, for an exchange with some sisters, and we saw signs that said "Don't Pokemon and Drive!" This game is plaguing the world haha,especially if missionaries know about it. I had the most wonderful exchange with a dear sister who has only been out for a month, that greenie fire is a real thing! And, then later, basically melted while doing some yard work outside for three hours, but it was soo worth it!! My testimony of how hearts are softened through service, continues to deepen!!

But, what I really wanted to talk about was what I learned in sacrament meeting yesterday. July 24th is Pioneer Day, and the theme of sacrament was in honoring those who have paved the way before us. But rather than focus exclusively on all those wonderful saints who crossed the plains, they also spoke of modern day pioneers.  The analogy is that we are pioneers as well. Like the pioneers of the past, we live among those who do not believe the things we do. And, although we do not leave homes and family behind, we are asked to lay aside the things of the world and become followers of Christ.  Also, we go through times of extreme trials and testing. Our Zion, the promised land that we are being led to, is the eternal salvation with our Father in heaven.

As modern day pioneers we should look to those who came before us, as they are amazing examples of faith, unselfishness, sacrifice, obedience, moderation, unity and patience. All attributes we need now, just as much as they needed them then. I invite each of you to ponder on the pioneers you know, ancient and modern, and think of how you can more fully apply and practice these principles in your own lives. This is what I have been doing and I have found that we can, as Christ says in Mark 5:36, "Be not afraid, only believe".   There will be times of trial, however, we know we are here for Christ and as we put our trust in Him there will be nothing to fear.

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

Interviews with President, road trips to Lincoln, and two mini missions were the highlights of my super crazy busy week!!

 

I will start first with my interview with President Gardner. I had a most amazing revelation experience during our interview together. He asked me how I had changed as I have been on my mission?? So many things ran through my head, but this is the one I shared. During our first interview over a year ago, President shared with me a scripture in Matthew 5: 15-16 which talks about letting your light shine, and told me to fearlessly let my light shine. At the time, I sort of resented this challenge because I hate standing out, and despite my best efforts, it seems like that always happens. That is when it hit me, I have been able to overcome my fear of standing out because I have realized that it isn't my own personal light that is shining, it is Christ's light shining through me. I am now able to be confident in who I am and what I believe.

Second, road trips to Lincoln...meetings. I got to meet up with one of my most favorite Kansas families the Diazs!! And then there was driving, not much to report on that.

And finally, the mini mission. Oh my, it was so AMAZING!!! We had two laurels from our ward come out and just spend the weekend with us doing missionary work. Then, we ended with a sort of fireside, at the church, to discuss the outcome of the mission. The girls expressed how surprised they were with how hard a mission actually was... the schedule, the commitment, and especially the rejections. They said, however, it taught them so much! In those three short days, they learned about charity, having a positive attitude despite the circumstances, and how simple and natural it is to share the gospel. And even though it was really hard, and they were really tired, they would do it all over again. It was awesome to go out and teach with these young girls whose testimonies are so strong, to see how their desire to serve God and others just grew! I just love those girls!! I was even tearing up, a little, when we had to give them back to their families, hahaha.

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

GIVING YOUR HEART

 

Yayyyy Shout out to Evan, Happy Birthday Jo Boo!!!! #15   ;)

 

They do the 4th sooo big here in Nebraska. Seriously, there are block parties for days,with slip and slides and bounce houses with the whole road blocked off. They also shoot off their own fireworks, not just firecrackers and sparklers, but the real things that we cant even buy in Cali. And they shoot them off from noon to midnight, it sounds like we are in a war zone hahaha.

 

Anywho, this week has been full of lesson learned. Not just for me as a missionary, but as a person as well. In preparation for our missionary leadership meeting this week, our mission president asked us to read this talk called the fourth missionary...Life Changing. Though the principles of the talk were directed towards missionaries, I realized that the things I learned will always apply to me.

 

A little bit of background, this talk categorizes visionaries based on their mindsets and the fruits of their labors. The first and second missionaries are both disobedient so I wont talk about them.. I want to focus on the third and fourth missionary. They are both obedient hard working and see much success. The biggest difference is the condition of their hearts. The third missionary does things because it is his duty and because he knows he should, and though he serves with all his might and strength, he withholds his heart from the Lord. In contrast, the fourth missionary gives himself totally over to the Lord, he is obedient and hard working, not because he is expected to but because that is his desire as well.

 

This spoke tons to me, sometimes living the gospel can become a checklist or chore to do. However as we give ourselves completely and totally over to the Lord living the gospel becomes a joy! I have seen this personally as a missionary. Being an STL has given me the chance to be around a lot of missionaries and you can tell if missionaries have given their hearts over to the Lord, or not, because it is expressed in their faces. Now, don't get me wrong, the fourth missionary is not perfect by any means, and to move from being the third missionary or member is easy. It starts with the desire to change to align your will with God's and then it is done, its truly that easy!:)

 

In our meeting, President Gardner asked us a couple of awesomely thought provoking questions, and I invite you to ask them to yourself as well: "What kind of disciple do I want to become?" and What could keep me from achieving what I desire?" Because of our Savior and his Atonement each of us has the opportunity to chance and become better. Dont ever give up!:D

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

STOPPING TO REST
Oh my goodness, this week was SOOOO BUSY!!!! We had two exchanges, both of which I went to the other sister's area. We did at least 15 hours of service, and tons of missionary meetings. Two of which took us to Lincoln (about an hour away).

Despite the rush of this week, I got a moment of peace because we got to go to the Temple! Though this week was full of things to do, places to go and things to plan for, it seemed like time stopped while we were at the temple.

Thursday night, we were walking around the temple grounds and a couple of sisters came to talk to us. They told us they had started talking to this lady who was sitting on a bench right beside the temple. They talked for a minute and found out this young woman was from Russia and everyday she went for a run around her neighborhood, as she was running, she would always stop and rest right outside of the temple. She had no idea what the temple was or why it was there, she just always felt such calm and peace as she sat for her rest. After a bit, she would get up and run the rest of the way home. I realized there is a lesson in this experience.

Life keeps us running nonstop, we have so many things to do and it seems like there is never enough time in the day to do those things. We must take a break however, and there is no better place for rest and recuperation than the temple. As I sat inside the temple, I could feel the Spirit soo strong, it felt as if I was having my spiritual, mental, emotional, and even physical battery recharged.

 

I am so very grateful for the temple not just for the peace it brought to me this week but for the ordinances preformed within that provide us with the ability to return to Heavenly Father again. I know that as we take time form our busy lives and endless lists of things to do and make time to attend the temple, clarity, light and an increase of goodness will flow into our lives and the lives of those around us.

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

Papillion, NE 68046

New places, not so new faces!

Transfers happened this week, bringing with it a ton of bittersweet feelings. I LOVE Kearney and all the people I met there, but I know that many more miracles and wonderful people are here in Papillion too!! Soooo many Infinite moments this week:

1. Finding out that Sister Youngberg and I were going to be companions again!!! Dream team reunited:D

2. We went with a recent convert here in Papillion for her first time going to the temple, and guess who was there...the entire Kearney youth! I seriously teared up when I saw them all, it was so unexpected but so perfect!!!

3. Oh and an AMAZING person I was able to see this week was Kesley!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, Sister Rook... She walked in the room, I, of course, screamed and ran to her, I was sooooo happy to see her I almost started bawling, hahahaha It is soooo weird to have home life and mission life combine, it did not even seem like a real thing.

Though there are a lot of new things, I am so very excited to be here and begin another new adventure!!

This Sunday, we were learning about what True Greatness is and how we can discover it within ourselves. Ultimately, true greatness is found in those who are willing to sacrifice their desires for others. Its having the ability to look for opportunities to serve, not because we are supposed to or asked to, but because we genuinely care for others.

We were asked to think of someone in our lives that emulate true greatness, and I automatically thought of my mom. She sacrifice so much for us and others, she serves with her whole heart and loves as well as sees others as Christ would. In all that she does, she directs me and others to our Savior who is the perfect example of true greatness.

Though the athletes, celebrities, and heroes fade there is one who will never fade nor change and that is our Savior Jesus Christ. On whom we can rely on in any circumstance and who will never let us down or lead us astray.

~ With Bunches of Love,

Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1429 Grandview Ave #24

We were with God before coming to Earth

A question that I have been pondering this week has been, "Why does it matter that we lived with God before we came to this earth?" Someone we were talking to said he believed we did not exist before, but that we came into existance when we were born, and at that moment God breathed life into us. Now this was something I never thought before, so I wondered why is  knowing we did exist with God before coming to Earth so important? The answer came gradually over this week and then during relief society this Sunday, just exploded in my mind with understanding. This is what I learned, knowing where we came from, helps us to know where we need to go. It helps us to recognize our own personal potential, and it gives us the drive to become greater.

    I came up with this real life comparison. We are like princes and princesses, we know that one day we will inherit all that our father, the king, has to give us. With this knowledge, different things are expected of us. We must learn and grow in understanding and compassion, and we honor the responsibility we have. We can't just go around having parties and not caring about consequences, because we are ALL royalty. 

   The most popular hymn that we sing, is "I am A Child of God".  We all know this, but do we accept it?  When we recognize and truly understand that we are children of God, children of the King, our views are expanded, confidence lifted and desire strengthened.  Understanding that we lived with God before, helps us to understand that he knows us, he loves us, and he will ALWAYS be there to "lead us", "guide us", and "walk beside us", so that we all are able "to find the way." And that is exactly the message of hope we share as missionaries, that there is a way, and it has been prepared by our Savior Jesus Christ, and that as we follow him and his teachings,  one day we may be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father again!:)

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

For any of you who want to read the rest of this AMAZING talk, here is the link, enjoy! 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/do-i-believe?lang=eng

Do I Believe? - By Bonnie L. Oscarson - The Church of ... www.lds.org

From Sister Leela Jordan:

This was the week of spirit filled studies, interesting conversations and wonderful inspiration! It all started last Wednesday in our district meeting where we were taught about the importance of hope and the need to set faith building goals. Our district leader had us look up faith in the Topical Guide, when we got there all it said was "(see objectives;perfection)" We were like oh, we see what you did there. Goal setting  displays our faith in Heavenly Father and his will for us and help us to become more perfect. So Sister Murphy and I set some faith stretching goals, and the results were interesting. We set our goals with the intent to find more prepared people to teach, but that was not exactly what happened. We met quite a few people this week who were concerned for the eternal salvation of our souls and were essentially trying to convince us what we believed was not true. These conversations caused be to take a step back and really ponder about what I was teaching, to really think. I knew these things, but did I believe them? In my studies, I came across a wonderfully perfect conference talk by Sister Oscarson, who put perfectly the message we share as missionaries. Then, I took a moment to ponder these principles, and even before I could utter a prayer, I felt the Spirit rush over me!! Yes, I believed these things!!!  

(1) "We believe that, through a prophet and the power of God, we have received additional scriptures, adding to the testimony of that in the Bible declaring that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world".

(2) "We claim that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God and the only true Church on the earth. It is called the Church of Jesus Christ because He stands at the head; it is His Church, and all these things are possible because of His atoning sacrifice.

 

And, I believed so much more!!  I know: that the same Church Jesus Christ established while on this earth has been restored once again by a prophet called of God in our time, and that our leaders hold the same power and authority to act in God's name that ancient Apostles held. I also know that it this priesthood power makes it possible to make covenants and receive ordinances in holy temples that will someday enable us to return to the presence of God and live with Him forever.  Most importantly, I know that the earnest seeker of truth can come to know the truthfulness of these things for themselves personally, as they ask our Heavenly Father in sincere prayer, who "giveth to all men liberally and upbraidth not!"

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

AMAZINGNESS

Another wonderful week here in Kearney Nebraska!!! Sometimes I feel as if I cannot fit all the amazingness of my mission into one email, but I will try and convey the lessons I learned and miracles I saw this week. First off, we had zone conference where we were trained by our mission president. Let me just say...sooooo gooood!! He trained us about the different levels of conversion. Level 1:our head, meaning the facts memorized information, and reason. Level 2: which is expressed through our heart, feelings, our desires, and an attitude of humility. Then Level 3:  which is our soul, through our experiences, practice and it is an act of becoming. The only way we can know of the truthfulness of any aspect of the gospel is allowing it to move from our heads to our hearts, which cause us to act and then moves this action of faith into our souls. How we can know if the gospel is indeed embedded into our souls, can be found in Mosiah 5:2.  As we allow the gospel of Jesus Christ to enter into our souls, our hearts will change and we will be able to exclaim as did the people of King Benjamin,  "Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."

     May we also remember that conversion is a life long process that involves work, our whole" heart, might, mind, and strength" to be exact. Though it will not be easy let us all remember the words of Elder Holland from this past conference address, "Keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.'' Never give up for we know we are on the winning team and as we rely on our Savior and emulate his teachings, we will have the ability to accomplish anything!

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847

Golden

This week was just pure gold! So Sister Murphy and I are not only having tons of fun, we are seeing tons of miracles too! We take a picture everyday, and I, honestly, keep forgetting that that we have only been together for a week, because we are best buds already. Our bishop is the most amazing person ever, and he sets up meal appointments for  us with members who need an extra dose of the Spirit in their homes. We help them set spiritual goals that will stretch them, and then we encourage and follow up with their progress. These meal appointments have been just wonderful, to see from just one appointment the light and happiness just flood into their lives, is the best thing EVER! They thank us tons, but honestly, it is not us, it is the Spirit. Also, another fun thing - we mowed an enormous lawn... took about 3 hours to complete, however we weren't even the least bit sore... blessings of service work!!

Also, super cool missionary moment, involving the influence of the Spirit. So, Sister Murphy got her hair dyed today (looks amazing!) at a beauty school. We got to talk with two girls our own age for about two hours! They asked us all sorts of questions and were just amazed at the fact we were missionaries. It gave me a glimpse of how it will be when I get back home, and have the opportunity to share the gospel. Just talking with these girls and explaining why we are here and what we do filled the entire salon with the Spirit, and literally everyone was listening! By the time we were done, we exchanged phone numbers so we could get back together again while we were still here in Kearney. It was crazy to see that yes, we are quite different than the 20 year olds around us, but not in a bad way. Those girls totally respected us, and were interested in knowing why we are the way we are. I am so very grateful for this gospel that puts everything into perspective, that gives direction, and purpose and so so much JOY!

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847

We Begin to Shine

   Oh my, this week was full of change, excitement and awesome spiritual experiences!! I have a new companion, her name is Sister Murphy. She came from the Trail center, is amazing, and we realized that we both act super weird whenever we get really excited, hahaha. We have only had four days together, and so many wonderful things have happened already!

    This past week, I have been pondering on the definition of joy, and how is it that we can have joy more fully. The first place I turned to was the scriptures, and what I found surprised me. In each scripture, things like tears, sorrow and tribulation always came before the feeling and expression of joy (Psalms 126:5, Isaiah 50:11 &2 Corinthians 7:4), and I realized that joy is something we earn after having accomplished something hard. It is deeper and sweeter than happiness, because we have gone through hard things, and through Christ we were triumphant. This joy that we feel, fills us so completely that we begin to shine, and as Christ has said "Let your light so shine before men." To me, this means that if I stay faithful, and keep pressing forward, through our Savior, my "tears, sorrow and tribulation" can be turned into light. In the scriptures it says "Come unto me...that thy burdens may be light." I always thought that meant less heavy or less hard, but now I realize that this "light" is one that can be seen. It is the light of testimony, and conversion that comes after our trials and is expressed through feelings of joy".  May we have the courage to seek the Savior amidst our trials and always remember the words of Lehi: "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy!"

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847

Growing in Cycles

    Major, eye-opening realization this week: the fact that this gospel is not linear, it is circular. What I mean by this is: we do not reach some far off destination and stop, but we learn and grow in a cycle, continuously growing, and progressing. I wish I could draw it out for you, but I will try and do my best, haha.

    So the first step of our "life cycle" is to LEARN. To help us in this step, we start with a desire which leads us to pray, and reading the scriptures.  We watch the examples of our family, friends, and church members.  Then, as we begin to recognize the prompting of the Holy Ghost and begin to act on them, we are lead to begin building our TESTIMONY, and we feel JOY.

      However, as we all know, we live in a fallen world and "there must be opposition in all things." Now, add to this cycle OBSTACLES, thus temptations, human frailties, pride, etc.

The next step is to then PRACTICE the Godly things that we have learned. In the face of adversity, the test is how well we put into PRACTICE the simple principles of the gospel.

    Though we all know, we will never be able to accomplish anything on our own, Heavenly Father adds THE ATONING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST to this cycle! The atonement not only cleanses us of sin, it enables us to overcome any and all OBSTACLES. As we go through this necessary and redeeming step, we are able to LEARN, which stengthens our TESTIMONY and we feel JOY. Then we do it all over again!!

    As a missionary, I have had many opportunities to help others in the "LEARN" step of the cycle.  I see first hand when they hit the OBSTACLES,  and I watch with faith, as they PRACTICE living all they have learned.  I witness and testify to THE ATONING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST in their lives, and I experience with them the immense JOY as they are delievered and they LEARN MORE of God's LOVE, and their TESTIMONY grows!!!  This is the cycle of conversion. Conversion is not a one time thing. It takes patience, work and persistence. However, we never have to do this or anything alone, our Savior, as always, is not only our perfect example, He is who we can turn to anytime, all the time! I invite you to read "Converted Unto The Lord" by Elder Bednar from which this blog was inspired:)

P.S. I tried to make it in a circular format.

LEARN/TESTIMONY =>

JOY =>  

OBSTACLES/ADVERSITY =>

PRACTICE + THE ATONING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST  =>

LEARN/TESTIMONY =>

JOY =>  

OBSTACLES/ADVERSITY =>

PRACTICE + THE ATONING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST

repeat again, and again

     

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847

Talking to EVERYONE

This week was a definite growing experience for me. So since  I have been out now for about a year, I had begun to reflect on my expectations I had set for myself at the beginning of my mission. I realized that though I had come a long way, I still was not at all where I had expected myself to be. For a moment I got a bit discouraged and quite a bit frustrated, however, Heavenly Father is so very mindful of me and I came across this scripture in Jacob chapter 4 verse 7, which says"The Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace and his great condescension unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things." I recognized that it is ok to fall short, to be imperfect and still improving, for we know that we are given weaknesses to be humble. 

  So I began to ponder on how I might be able to humble myself to recognize the hand of God in this work. So I decided to focus on one of my weaknesses this week and work hard to improve it, I chose talking to everyone. Not just those people who are at the cash register or walk past you on the street, we took it to the next level and pulled over our car to talk to anyone who we saw. Now I know this may seem sort of silly, because aren't missionaries always supposed to talk to everyone, but I had begun to let my fear keep me from even reaching out. However, as I prayed for the strength and courage, we talked to everyone this week,  and the results were miraculous!!!

   It was an amazing opportunity to, on a daily basis many times during the day, to testify of our Savior Jesus Christ. We handed out a bunch of copies of the Book of Mormon, and we now have so many more people to teach. One lady even thanked us for"bringing our shining spirits to brighten up her day." Don't get me wrong, there were many who were not interested, but we figured it out and for every two that were not interested, two accepted us!! It is true that by ourselves, we are weak and imperfect, but when we partner ourselves with our Savior and rely on his strength, anything and everything is possible. 

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847

Hope and Happiness

     In my studies this morning, we sang the song, "We are all enlisted" And the last verse has stuck with me all day. First, " Fighting for a kingdom, and the world is our foe; Happy are we! Happy are we!" I thought that was funny, we are fighting but happy, how does that work? The answer for this happiness  is found in the last stanza, "Dangers may gather--why should we fear? Jesus, our Leader, ever is near. He will protect us, comfort, and cheer. We're joyfully, joyfully marching to our home." And it hit me, oh my goodness this is soo true!! With just having hit my year mark, going home is an upcoming reality, which truthfully fills me with a bit of worry and fear. This world is crazy and it gets worse daily, as a missionary we are sheltered from most worries and struggles, but that is not how it will be when I get home. 

       However, I realized this week, that I need not fear, because as I tell all who I come in contact with,  we can have hope and happiness as we center our lives on our Savior Jesus Christ. Here in Kearney we recently had our stake conference, and wouldn't you know it,  the topic was how we can better live a Christ centered life. I want to share just the highlights of numerous wonderful and inspirational talks. To live a more Christ centered life, we need to make prayer, scripture study and church attendance priorities, not just for ourselves individually but as families, eliminate bad influences by asking yourself the question, "If the Savior walked in would I feel comfortable watching, reading talking etc....?", to attend the temple as often as possible, and lastly to make it a family effort. There is immense strength in uniting together for one purpose as a family. Life is not easy, nor was it meant to be, it is a time of testing and trial. The only solution to lasting and eternal happiness lies in our Savior Jesus Christ and obedience to his commandments.

       Though the world will tell us these commandments are restrictive and imposing, in reality, they free us from Satan's temptations and allow us to determine ourselves all that we do.  My invitation to you is to try and choose something that will more fully center your life on Christ, something that will stretch you and exercise your faith. I can promise you, because this is what I have discovered first hand, that as you more fully try and center your life on the Savior, all other fears will disappear, you will be happy in any circumstance, and you will be filled with a joy that will radiate and effect all who you come in contact with!

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847