Peeps!!!

So... it was a good week. Wednesday, our Sandy run day, was FANTASTIC!!! We saw XXXX, the 15 year old Elder Goff and I found tracting, for the first time in months. We knocked their door and his little siblings answered, they told us he was sick. We asked if we could say hi to him anyways. So we did, and showed him the Mormon Message, "Sanctify yourselves" by Elder Holland. The Spirit was really strong as we showed it to him. And then, after we had finished and were just talking for a little bit, his little brother came in. I assume he was about 5 years old. Our conversation went as follows.

"You guys should leave now."

Why?

"Because I don't want you here."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm bigger than you!"

"Well I can punch you in the qqqq!"

He was dead serious too.

I would say of all the ways I have heard of to end a conversation, that is one of the more effective ones. Part of me wanted to tell him I have qqqq of steel so it wouldn't matter, but I decided it would be best not to test it out.

The best part of Wednesday was meeting with Bishop Hoakenson of the Sandy River ward. Lemme splain to you guys so that you can understand how intense of an experience this was. I told you that we met with the Mt Hood Stake President last week right? President Morby suggested that we stop by him just to tell him what we were doing and see if we can do anything for him. He appreciated our visit and said he would talk to President Morby. That was almost 2 weeks ago. We decided that same night that we should pick a Bishop to meet with to try to get some people we could take with us to lessons out there. We randomly picked one Bishop, Bishop Hoakenson, of the Sandy River Ward. He just felt right. So this Wednesday we show up, we were a few minutes early because we got out of our appt with XXXX and figured it would be better to be early than late, so we headed to the Church. This was like the most inspired showing up early that I've had on my mission. The Church was PACKED with people who knew about us and wanted to talk to us.

Apparently within like 3 days President Lewis had sent an email out to his High Councilors and Bishops talking about starting a group. So while we were waiting for Bishop Hoakenson, we talked to a retired bus driver who knew all the nooks and crannies of Sandy, 2 Elders quorum presidents, and the other 2 members of the Stake Presidency. DOPE.

After that we got into the meeting itself, and all I have to say is WOW. Apparently, the Sandy River ward is the one President Lewis wants to start the group out of. We didn't know that when we called. Also, Bishop Hoakenson used to live in Texas, where starting groups out of wards is a very common occurrence. As we started talking he asked us why we thought we were there. We told him and kind of talked about our investigators. Then he told us why he thought we were there. And he said that since he had moved from Texas 10 or 15 years ago, he had wanted to start a group out in Sandy, just had been waiting for the right time. Even if I don't get to go open that area up that experience alone will be worth it. Hints are getting dropped all over the place too. President Lewis sent us an email saying that this transfer (this is the last week of the transfer by the way, so Wes if you're gonna get me a letter, get it in the mail to me in Milwaukie by Wed or wait until next week) President Morby is planning on putting some Spanish Elders out there. President Morby called us one night to check that if Sandy gets opened up the Milwaukie group won't lose any members and that we will still have enough work to do in Milwaukie, which it won't and we will, and at Zone Conference on Friday President was dropping a few hints, he told me to "saddle up Elder" and a couple of other things, and the housing couple has reportedly been out looking for a place for missionaries to live. So, I don't know if I'll get to go out there but I am 95% sure it is happening. I'm kind of excited if you can't tell.

Friday was President's last Zone conference.

It was a pretty somber meeting. Saturday there was this dance festival deal some of the Stakes put on so all day Saturday the whole mission chilled at a high school so that we could sing We are as the armies of Helaman 3 times.

We got to watch a movie, too. The Saratov Approach. Mom, if you haven't watched that movie already... you should probably wait until I get home...:) Just saying.

Not the movie for moms of missionaries to see.   just sayin'

And last but not least, yesterday we had an investigator come to church, a 16 year old named TTTT, and in the middle of Sacrament meeting he decided he wants to get baptized!! So we set a date for July 18th!!

Ok... that's about it... I love you guys!!

 First week of June

Hey guys!!!
Sorry I didn't get to email you yesterday... like I said we went on a
15 mile hike near Mt Hood... I have some WAY GOOD pics to send home
when I have time next week.
This week not a whole lot happened; We got dropped by another one of
our promising youth again... That's kinda starting to frustrate me.
But all is well. God gave man his agency.
I do have a funny story for you guys though. And The main message of
it is I HATE SODA!!!!!!! 


We were in the house of an investigator this
week, finishing up a lesson, and she offered us a drink. The exact
word she used was  "refresco." I thought that just meant refreshment
so I said sure... Elder Warenski looked at me like I was high. And
then she brought us out a glass of soda. It wasn't even that big and
it was mostly flat. I'd asked for it... So I kinda had to drink it...
and I felt like DOG CRAP!!!!!!! the rest of the night!!!!! I felt so
fetching sick I kinda just wanted to lay down and cry.


I can't decide
which feeling is worse between gettind dropped or drinking soda...
nevertheless I can say with confidence that I'd be fine with neither
one ever happening again!!!!!!!!
Ok sorry I know this is short... the only other news is that Elder
Warenski and I are really working hard to get Sandy opened... we met
with the Stake President out there last week and it seems like things
are getting close. And it needs to be its own area, honestly. So keep
your fingers crossed!!! Oh, and I don't know how I never realized this
before, but Elder Warenski REALLY reminds me of Ashton Durrant. So...
yeah..
Love you guys!!!!
Elder Travis Jorgensen.

Hey guys!!

So... it was a pretty good week. Weird that I hit my 10 month mark and it was a year ago that I got my call... that all went by super fast.

However, my 10 month mark was a pretty good day, probably one of my favorites all week. I was on exchanges in Molalla, which is like the Oregon version of Kuna!!

There were cows everywhere, and little dinky homes and backroads and I really just felt like I was back home. Anyways.. to start of the morning my district leader, Elder Bair, wanted to go running! I said sure, we can go running! And then we got going and he wanted to turn around after 3/4 of a mile!! I said, no, let's keep going! So, we ran like 3 miles because I am a sadist:)

He said by the time we got back to their apt, he was blacking out...:) Anyways as the day went on, we had to go out to Oregon City so Elder Bair could do some baptismal interviews... they were for 2 kids whose parents and older brother are less active. While Elder Bair was doing the interviews, I got to talk with the less active older brother, who is 16. We started out playing basketball but he just had a lot of questions so we ended up just talking. It was a good chat, if anything I liked it because I really like talking to youth.

Obviously NOT Travis...

After that we went to our only set appointment of the day, with a couple where the wife was less active, they weren't married, and the husband wasn't baptized. I didn't know them at all and Elder Bair had only taught them as a family once. But the dad has been taking the discussions for awhile, over a year, and he told us he likes the way he feels when missionaries are over. It took Elder Bair and I awhile to get in a rhythm and figure out what to do with the lesson... but after a lot of following the Spirit, and good questions, we committed them to get married so the husband could be baptized. The wife said the closing prayer and the Spirit was so strong she started crying.

That's the first time I have had that happen in a lesson. To top things off, they have a 2 month old daughter who apparently has a heart condition and they wanted us to give her a blessing. So I got to do it and it was powerful. I don't know... trying to describe that lesson doesn't do it justice as to how good it actually was. That is the first lesson where I felt the Spirit really using me as a tool and guiding me in what to say and do versus me saying what I want and hoping the Spirit would testify of it. It was one of the most powerful moments of my mission.

And then the next day, Saturday, we had another powerful lesson. One of Elder Goff's recent converts in the area is named JJJJ, and he has 3 kids, one of them has her own kid already, and the others are teenagers. We've gone on and off teaching the 2 youth... Long story short it is hard to teach them routinely. So Friday we passed by, and saw CCCC, the oldest boy still at home (17) outside, and started talking to him. When we asked him if he had still been reading in The Book of Mormon, he said no, because he didn't believe in God anymore...

Well, that wasn't really what we wanted to hear, so we spent the next hour and then some talking with him about how God exists and how he can find out. It actually went pretty well, we made more progress with him than we thought we would, and by the end he told us he would keep praying until he got an answer.

That was probably the high of the day. The low came when 30 minutes later, another one of our 17 year old investigators named RRRR called us and dropped us. We had an appointment set for that day but he told us we didn't have to come, that he felt like it wasn't for him. I think that's the first time when an investigator that I really got close to and was really close to progressing dropped us... I don't like it too much!

And STILL NO ONE will come to church!!!

I could vent about it but it really wouldn't get me anywhere, it is just hard because so many people are reading and praying but won't come... and it's hard to help them want to be baptized if they won't come to church!

Aight... I think that's it... Love you guys!!

Elder Travis Jorgensen!

First Mucho Mango in 10 months

 what's up peeps!!

Well it was a pretty good week aqui en Milwaukie! Elder Warenski and I are teaching some really cool youth and almost all of them are keeping their commitments! There are 5 of them between the ages of 15 and 17 and this week we had some really good lessons with them.

My birthday was good!! Because I know you are all wondering...

You guys' present was way good !!! I'm not gonna lie recently I have been feeling like I was missing something in my mission... as if something were lacking, a missing piece we shall say. And THEN I got you guys' present, opened it, and saw my weed hoodie

and my track bag. After that... my life made sense. I felt whole and complete.  AND my cleats are super bomb too. I'll let you know when I play in them.

So this Saturday I was probably the fullest I have ever been in my life. We ate SO MUCH with this one English member... let me explain. We started out with a salad. Then the brought out... you guessed it... RIBS!!!! Tender, fall off the bone, RIBS!!!! He cooked 3 racks!!! Elder Warenski and I helped them finish off the first two (eating 7 ribs a piece) but then he told us he had cooked a 3rd and marinated it differently!!! So OF COURSE we had to try those, which put us at 9!! But that's not all!! While we were working on the ribs they brought us out corn on the cob and potato salad!! And then AFTER we had finished all of that, they told us watermelon was for dessert!! I was thinking to myself, "I should be able to handle that. A piece of watermelon. No biggie." WRONG!!! He cut it in half, and then cut a circle sized piece, bigger than a DINNER PLATE, for each of us. FETCH. I can honestly say yesterday I really was not hungry AT ALL!!! But the best part was, in the middle of eating, I started looking at one of their decorations. It looked a lot like a hookah. It was a hookah. It was given to them by their friend who works in narcotics for the Police. So naturally... I had to take advantage of the moment and take a picture!!!

Ummm what else... oh the Lord is definitely aware of our circumstances!!! We had a member by us groceries this week and Elder Warenski and I were super close to running out of money!!!

The last experience I have to share is a powerful prayer. On Friday for District Meeting Elder Warenski and I gave the training and we gave it on prayer and following the Spirit... which is really something we have been trying to work on in this companionship. So for the practice part we just gave everyone part of an Uchtdorf talk on prayer and had them go say a prayer to feel the love of God. And I felt it. It's hard to describe how it happened or why but I definitely know that God loves me and is aware of my situation.

Mom for a scripture reference you guys should read the Book of Enos.

Love yall!! Thanks for the Birthday present, wes that hat is dope! Keep me updated on Lacrosse!!

Elder Travis Jorgensen!