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!