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