Hey guys!!

Thanks for the emails!!  I feel like its been awhile since I got to write a good email so imma tell y'all about the WORK!!!

I think I told you this already but on this area we are trying to start a group/branch... Which is hard because we are doing it out of an English ward so for now durning sacrament meeting we have to do a translation, we have our own Spanish Gospel principles class and we don't have anything figured out for priesthood or relief society yet but thusfar it hasn't been a problem...

And our area is about to freaking explode!!,

Elder Warenski is a pretty experienced Elder and we are doing work together. In the last 2 weeks we have found 12 new investigators and legitimately all of them have potential so we're hoping to see some baptisms here soon. The problem, as I have been complaining about recently, is that nobody will come to church... But that's ok we're hoping to see that start climbing. Elder Warenski and I both feel like baptizing weekly is something that we can get done if we work up to it so we are going to start fasting weekly to make it happen. This week was our second week doing it and it seems to be working.

Fun fact for y'all... Today is Elder Coopers hump day.

It is also a year ago today that we had that youth fireside and I prayed about serving at 18... I don't think that it's a coincidence that that was Elder Cooper's first day out...

You guys should send me some pics I feel like I don't know anything that is going at home anymore!!!

Ok I actually have some pics for you guys we just finished another hike... Thankfully nobody almost died today it was just some good walking and pictures... Not to mention there have just been some picture worthy moments... The problem with emails these days is that we usually do them from our iPads and the pics are on my camera... But one of these days when we don't do something for pday I'll send some...

Ok well I think that is all... As far as calling home i think there will be a good chance that we will be allowed to skype. No promises it just seems reasonable. And you don't really need to send me an Easter package I just barely got one... I mean I'd like it bbbuutttt... No worries.

K I think that's it... Til next week pray that God softens the heart of my investigators!!

Love,

Elder Travis Jorgensen

UPDATE UPDATE, READ ALL ABOUT IT!!
Editor's note--the last two weeks are updated below.  Many apologies for the delay...

Sup Peeps!!

So... I'm gonna start off with a vent! NOBODY WILL COME TO FREAKING CHURCH!!!! IT IS IRRITATING ME SO MUCH!!! NOT EVEN OUR RECENT CONVERTS WHO HAVE A WHOLE FAMILY WHO COULD BY BAPTIZED BY THE RECENT CONVERTS EXAMPLE!!!!

The Stake Presidency is waiting, itching, to get a group an official thing, but we need the bodies to make it happen, and we can't get anybody to come to Church!!! AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

Another editor's note:   right about here is where the blog site stopped letting me add pictures to the commentary, so all you get for the rest is commentary...

Aight other than that Elder Warenski and I had a pretty good week. We found 5 new investigators and a couple of them I have really high hopes for. One's name is DDDD and he is 17... we got in the door and I could tell right off the bat that he didn't really want to talk to us because he got the Church dude vibe from us... so I opened up and told him the story of why I decided to serve, and the Spirit was STRONG!!!(Picture of Travis sitting in Stake Conference hearing the Spirit telling him he needs to go on his mission...) I tell that story to people quite a bit because it is pretty cool but I haven't felt anything that strongly probably since it happened. And we could see it on his face, too, he felt it. And afterwards it kinda helped him open up and we are gonna go back tonight. Another one was all the fetching way out in Sandy, and it was an apartment complex only for migrant workers... sadly most of them are super hard hearted... anywho I haven't been out there for awhile, so yesterday Elder Warenski and I made a Sandy run to meet some people. I thought I remembered the door of one of the cooler people I had taught, but I went up to it, and it wasn't the one I thought it was... so we knocked it anyways. The guy opened up, and just immediately told us to come in. That NEVER happens. EVER. We got in and started talking with him, and it turns out he used to live in California 18 years ago and was taking the discussions back then. He remembers EVERYTHING perfectly!!!!! He has a wife and 7 kids...:D  (Picture a family of 9 dressed in white in front of the Temple, and happy missionaries in the background...:) So... I'm pretty excited for that.

OH mom before I forget... we are probably going to start teaching an English class... anyways...mom do you have any suggestions?

Random fact for you... a year ago this Friday is when I decided I should probably serve a mission... that's SUPER weird.Elder Warenski is good. We get along pretty well. He is experienced in the mish.

Ok last part sorry I'm scatterbrained today... last night in the Visitor's Center for the Temple there was a devotional for recent converts of within a year. Pretty much no one we invited went, but we still got to go, and Jose Salazar got to speak. DANG do I miss that family. (Picture of Elder Jorgensen AND the Salazar family)  It is SO cool to see how they have progressed and last night was just one of those tender mercies on the mish. Love it.

I feel like I have more to tell yall... but I can't remember... sssssooooo... until next week...:D

Love,

Elder Travis Jorgensen

P.s. mom and dad next week could you tell me about some of your mission stories??



Week of 7 April...

Hey guys!!!

So... Elder Goff left me and I have a new comp... Elder Warenski!! I'll tell you more about him in a sec though first I got some stories for y'all.

First of all, dad I wore that para cord tie you made me and people LOVED it!!!! Everyone who saw it asked where it came from, and then errybody from there said that you should sell them. I guarantee as many as you want to make I can find a missionary to give to. Actually I think Elder Cooper would REALLY like one so I'm not asking you to because I know you are busy but if you want to I can get you his address.

So Elder Goff and I had a pretty good lady week. We tracted some GHETTO areas...GHETTO, sketchy areas.

I have some pictures I'll send you next week. And one of our investigators works for he government and he told us the area we were knocking was full of like drug addicts and people with mental problems...:) that was good.

And then... Our last night together... Elder Goff got the stomach flu. He was up from 2 in the morning puking...

Except I didn't wake up until the alarm went off. HOW I don't know because he said he was puking so hard it came out his nose... And I think I must have died that night for him not to have woken me up because the bathroom is right next to our bedroom... I just don't know.

Conference was GREAT I'm not going to be able to give the same run down I did last time because I don't have my notebook with me and I don't have time... But I'll hit a few talks. I really liked President Eyrings talk in Priesthood about being examples... Dad that one made me think of you. Elder Hollands testimony on Saturday Morning gave me a glimpse of what the scriptures mean when they say the prophets spoke with voices of thunder. My favorite talk was probably President Uchtdorfs on Sunday morning.

So Elder Warenski.... The situations are almost EXACTLYthe same it is right after a good companionship, and Elder Warenski only has 3 transfers left in the mish.... But there are some differences and I am going to work them to my advantage... We served around each other for 4 transfers my first 3 he was in the ward with me and my last transfer in the ward he was one of my Zone leaders.. I am optimistic though... It will be a good learning and growing experience.

Oh and to finish up... NO MORE FREAKING SUITS!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right I said NO MORE SUITS!!!! I am on my iPad emailing in the sunshine right now and I LOVE IT!!!!! 

this is not Travis, but you get the idea...

And mom to answer your questions... I don't have much time so you are right the boring ones I probably won't answer. Milwaukie is a pretty isolated areas only times we see our fellow Spanish brethren have been at meetings and some p days... Like today we've been chilling with coop:) we usually get dinners and Fred Meyer has been and I'm pretty sure will continue to be the location at which I shop. We have been getting a lot of rain but it's been bipolar either rainy or sunny... The pair of shoes I brought out here for like tracting and stuff is done for... I'm trashing them because I wore through the soles.

I couldn't even stand on wet pavement without my shoes getting wet:) the Spanish is... Coming. I could always improve. One of the things I have realized about my mission is that I was sent here to see how hard I could push myself. Ok I think that's all and if not let me know!!!

Elder Travis Jorgensen!

WE FINALLY GOT AN INVESTIGATOR TO COME TO CHURCH!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

It's  been like a transfer since anyone was at church!!!! And he really liked it too, his name is (I can't tell you...:) and he has seen a lot in life... So when we are teaching him he always likes to point out how young we are...

But... Sal good.

I also had to speak in Sacrament yesterday... I was told to plan a 10 or 15 minute talk and I was the concluding speaker... And when i got up there I had 20 minutes left... I think I did aight though I had to talk about the Holy Ghost so I filled some time by telling stories... People told me they liked it sooo... Idk...

I got you guys package!!! It was pretty cool!!  Dad that para cord tie is like the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life!!! How long did it take you to make it?? And question... Where did those other ties come from? They are way legit I like them a lot. And the journals are pretty cool, thank you!! So this second journal will probably take another 8 months to fill out... And then I'll be ready for another one!!

I don't know where all you guys looked but I've heard bookstores have some pretty good deals sometimes... Is it possible to like buy a plain leather one and get some pictures put into the leather?? Idk..

So did one of the sisters who ate over know Elder Cooper?? He texted me a couple days before and told me a girl from his district was serving in Kuna and he got an email from her saying errybody freaked when you guys found that out.

Not much happened this week... So I'll tell you guys some stories from a couple weeks ago that we're pretty powerful... We were eating dinner with this dude from Hawaii, and he is just starting to be active again after 30 years of inactivity... He went inactive like right after his mission. So he was telling us one of his stories when a set of elders was going to buy an investigator a steak so he could be baptized... Bryan (the member feeding us) went up to them, stopped them, and said in his cool Hawaiian accent, "the Gospel is NOT a commodity."

And he said that, and I was just kinda like...dang. Powerful. It made me stop and think about what this Gospel means to me...

Ok well I think that's all... Wes as far as your knee I'm pretty sure it's because you've even growing so much so eat and drink healthy, stay hydrated, and stretch. Dad is like mister myogi

so he will fix you up.

I don't think there is anything else that I need right now, although mom you were a prophetic angel with what you threw in the last one, it was all stuff I was gonna have to buy today... Thanks guys I love you!

Oh and whasis name.. The kid I gave my scriptures to... I got them back we are teaching his family about once a week we just need to figure out something for church for them...

Love

Elder Travis Jorgensen!