Eunice from Jarabacoa

 Hermana Funes

  Kelsea said "took a little trip to Jarabacoa to say goodbye to my friends.

The man on the left and the woman next to me are Lopez family. They are so sweet. "

 "Ramona- she isn't baptized yet- but she is on fire"

 "My best friend Ricardo, Ramona's brother.

He is the best. We taught him how to pray and this is a picture of how he "says" my name. He also loves to talk about what he ate during the day.

Last week on an intercambio, Hermana Reyes asked him how old he is. He said Ëight." I said "Ricardo, you're not eight years old! How old are you?" So he looked at his hands, started to count him fingers, and said Ëight." haha He cracks me up. "

 The Buret family, minus President Buret

 The Zone

Beautiful Dominican Republic

Saludos!
Well, this is my last letter home. I can't believe all of the things that have happened to me in the past year and a half. I've been waiting for this my whole life and now it's coming to an end. It has been so different from what I've always thought and expected, but that's why we have the phrase "He knows better than I."  I have seen and experienced so many things I didn't know I needed to learn. I am so grateful that the Lord sent me to this country, because it has changed me. To me, it is holy ground, where the heavens met the earth, where my eyes were opened.  Where I learned to love and to forgive myself, where my heart filled with gratitude, where the gospel became not only a lifestyle but who I am. I believe I would have had a happy life had I chosen not to serve a mission, but the decision I made to serve a mission has opened my eyes to who I really am, who I can become, and the things that really matter in this life. I love the Gospel.  I love God's plan for me. I love the life He has given me and the opportunities I have to develop my talents. I love the scriptures and the peace I find as I search them. I am so grateful for the sacrifices that Joseph Smith and the pioneers made in order for us to have the restored gospel.  I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that He leads this church through living prophets, and that this is the true church. I invite all who are not members of this church to read and study the Book of Mormon, and to pray and ask God, with real intent, if it is true. It's worth the sacrifice. It's the most important decision you could make in your life. He will respond.
I can't believe it's time for me to go home. It feels like just yesterday I opened my mission call, thrilled to be called to serve in the Dominican Republic, some island in the Caribbean Sea, where my only worry was how I was going to handle the heat. And now I am here, freezing in the air-conditioned Relief Society room, wondering "how on earth am I going to survive" in freezing, cold Montana? I'll be sure to bundle up like an Eskimo. So pull out my winter jacket and get the Christmas music ready, I'm coming home!

Elder Hefner cooking steaks.  His mom sent a huge package with all the fixing for thanksgiving dinner.  But they couldn't find a turkey anywhere so they had steaks instead.

with Hermana Ely who helped cook for their Sister's meeting

with her companion Hermana Funes

with Hermana Ririe- Kelsea said she is really going to miss her!

Saludos!

Things are going great here in Navarrete! I'm been trying so hard to stay focused, but everyone hereloves to remind me just how many days I have left. haha But I'm staying strong! Yesterday we had our sister meeting and it went so well. Hermana Ely cooked for us, and it took a ton of stress off of us. She's so wonderful. We had the sisters talk about different chapters in Preach My Gospel and we talked a little bit about obedience. It helped us remember why we are here and how sacred is our calling.

On Thursday the elders planned a Thanksgiving Feast for the whole zone. It turned out so nice and we had so much fun. Elder Hefner's mom sent him a package with all sorts of Thanksgiving food, like stuffing, pumpkin bars, scalloped potatoes. It was delicious. We couldn't find a turkey anywhere, so we ate steak. :) I loved every minute of it. 

We had interviews with President on Friday, and it was such a pleasure to talk to him. I've been worried lately, thinking about everything I've done here in the mission, trying to decide if I had done enough and whether or not the Lord is please with me. He helped me understand that the Lord is please with me, and that He has accepted my work. I also received an email from my mom and then read the talk in the December Liahona about finding peace with ourselves and feeling the surety of the Lord's acceptance of our service and dedication to Him. I felt like that was written for me. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and sometimes He sends angel to help lift us up. 

I'm working hard and trying to bless these people! I'm going to give it my all these last two weeks! I can't wait to see you all soon!

Hermana Jorden

Saludos!

Sorry for not writing yesterday! I was visiting my old area in Bonao, and didn't make it back in time to write. But it was so fun! It was so good to see all of my old friends. We visited Regina, an investigator that I taught while I was there. She wasn't able to be baptized because of a smoking addiction, but she was able to overcome it and was baptized a few weeks ago. She is so happy and I am so glad that she was baptized! She told me that she's going to go to the temple at the end of this month. I also got to see two member families that I love- the Vazquez family and the Ramirez family. I was in heaven yesterday! 

Last night we had a ward activity and played games. A ton of members went, and it was so fun. It was the first time we had done something like that, and I felt like it helped me become closer with the members. There are just so many here in Navarrete that there are some people I don't know very well. But we had such a great time, and I really felt like we were able to unite the ward a little more. 

Have a great week!

Hermana Jorden 

Anadelsa (who Liza Smith taught in New York) and her family

 Cheyen Ramirez

 Hermana Taukafa

 Regina

The Vasquez family

Saludos!

Last week we starting visiting the sweetest old lady. She's the grandmother of a member in our ward, and we met her in a lesson with the member's mom. We thought that her mom, Arazelis, would accept the gospel right away, but she's had a hard time accepting the gospel doctrine. She reads the scriptures in the Bible that say exactly what we're explaining, but she doesn't want to believe. In one of our lessons, the grandma, Tago, was there and said she would love for us to visit her. So we starting going to her house, and she is the sweetest, most humble lady. Yesterday, she saw us walking to her house, so got in between us, and took each of us by the hand and walked us there. She is so sweet. Last night we invited her to be baptized December 12, and she accepted. She doesn't know how to read and doesn't understand everything, but she told us that when we grandson-in-law mentioned going to church, she felt something say to her "You need to go to that church." She said she's going to go this week, and we'll see what the Lord has planned!

Yesterday we had consejo de liderazgo for all of the zone leaders and sister leaders. I always love going. President Castillo is so inspired, and I look up to him so much. He really receives revelation for this mission. We found out that they took out a pair of sister leaders, so now there are just three sets of us, which means more intercambios! Looks like I won't have time to get trunky. :) 

Have a great week! 

Hermana Jorden 

Saludos!
Today begins my last transfer in the mission field. Wow, I can't even believe it. I was looking at all of the pictures on my camera this morning, and I feel like my mission has lasted a lifetime, in the sense that I've learned and progressed so much, had so many soul – stretching experiences, and met so many people that I love and cherish. My life back home in Billings almost seems like the pre-mortal life, a life that I knew I once had, but that doesn't feel so real. I feel like this is my life here. So I'm determined to make every last second count. And President Castillo is keeping Hermana Funes and I here in Navarrete, so I know he has a work here for us to accomplish.
Last Thursday, I woke up in the middle of the night to gunshots. I peaked out the window and there was garbage all over the street. A riot. It was unexpected because no one had announced it, and we didn't know what it was for or how long it was going to last, so we stayed inside all day. Luckily nothing bad happened, there were just huge tree branches in the streets and garbage everywhere. I still don't understand the purpose of these huelgas.
On Saturday we had our Sister meeting with the sisters from Navarrete, Esperanza, Mao Sabaneta, and Montecristi.  We shared a message from a talk by President Uchtdorf called "Forget Me Not."  We had lunch together and then celebrated Hermana Ririe's birthday. After we finished, Hermana Seenaraine got a phone call from the Sisters in Bonao saying that our investigator Regina was getting baptized that day! She was our golden investigator that wanted to be baptized so bad, but couldn't quite stop smoking. Hermana Seenaraine had told me that they weren't really visiting her after I left, so I was so surprised and happy to hear that she was getting baptized!  Hermana Seenaraine and I called her on the phone to congratulate her. She said she wished we could be there, but that she was so happy and excited to be baptized. She is going to be an incredible member of Christ's Church.
When I arrived in Navarrete, the sisters had been working with the Polanco family.  They reactivated the mom, baptized the father and older son, and my first Saturday there, two more children were baptized. The sisters had spent a lot of time working with this family, and they always invited their family friend, Osiris, over for the lessons. He always came to hang out and make jokes, so I didn't take it very seriously. After hermana Richardson left, we started spending less time with them to focus on other people we were teaching that were progressing. About two weeks ago, the elders told us that they had passed by his house and he came out and asked why the sisters had stopped visiting him. He said he thought he was going to be baptized and didn't know why they had stopped teaching him. What? I didn't know he wanted to be baptized. So the elders invited him to church and we called and invited him, and he came! We thought, "wow, maybe he is serious."  So last week we visited him and talked about the power of prayer and invited him to the baptism the elders had. He came to that as well, but he arrived after the ordinance and just as the Restoration video was ending.  After the baptism, he told us that he needed to see that video and asked when he could. So yesterday we watched the Restoration movie with him at the Palanco's house. We shared our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and how Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the true church again on the earth. We then invited him to be baptized, and he accepted! This week I learned that you never know who is ready to accept the Gospel. So share it with everyone!
Love,
Hermana Jorden

Fior and Ariel got baptized.  Kelsea and Hermana Funes are so happy!

The Elders had a baptism, too.  Kevin joined the church.

Fior and Ariel got baptized! It was such a sweet baptism. They arrived an hour early, before anyone else, and sat in the Relief Society room and sang hymns together. They are so sweet. We did a special musical number together- I sang, Elder Eddy played the piano, and Hermana Funes played the recorder. :) We did He Sent His Son. Everyone loved it. It was cute. A lot of members came and supported them. It was a special day.

There's not a lot to report this week. We had quite a few intercambios with the sisters. It's stinking hot. I finally tried a zapote shake, and it was delicious. I love being a missionary. And that's about it! Have a great week everyone!

Hermana Jorden

Saludos!
Well, I had such a wonderful week! On Thursday we started a four day intercambio with the sisters in Sabaneta. My companion went to Sabaneta and Hermana Barnes came to Navarrete with me. Hermana Barnes and I have  almost always been in the same zone, so we're good friends, but it was such a pleasure to teach and work with her. She is so humble and willing to change and she loves the people so much. She is in touch with the spirit and she helped me a lot with our investigators. It was a great blessing to learn from her.
On Saturday Fior and Ariel are getting baptized! They are such good people. Two Sundays ago, after teaching about tithing, Fior came to church with her little bit of money already to give her tithing to the Lord. It was so sweet to see her so willing to sacrifice for the Lord.  About a month ago, we gave Ariel a book of Mormon stories book for children and he finished it last Tuesday, so we gave him a book of Mormon to start reading and today he told us that he is in 2 Nephi 27!  Fior says he just reads all day and that he understands it all. We are so excited for them to be baptized and make covenants with God.
The Aquino family went to church!  Oh, I was so happy. Saturday night we stopped by their house and invited them, and Noris wasn't thrilled to commit, but she said she would go to one hour. Sunday morning Marino called and said they were going to go at 10 and sure enough they were there as soon as Sacrament meeting ended. Mabel went straight to Sunday school with all the youth she met when she went to seminary, and Marino and Noris came with us to gospel principles. We got them to stayed the last hour as well, and we visited them in the evening to see what they thought. When I asked them about church, Marino said, "well Hermana..." in a way that made me think it was going to be our last lesson with them, but he started talking about how much he liked the lesson about the law of chastity and how everyone talks in the lessons and shares their experiences and it's not just someone preaching.  Noris said she loves the unity between the members and how good the youth are. They even expressed the desire for us to work with their children and help them stay on the path. We talked about the importance of doing things as a family, such as eating dinner together and reading scriptures, and Noris said, "yeah, maybe we can all get together and read a scripture and ponderize it (meditizar in Spanish).  I loved that from conference."
They really changed on Sunday. I asked if going to church was a sacrifice and Noris said, "no! I got up early and washed clothes and went to church, then came home and cooked and cleaned and finished earlier than normal! I even got to rest!"  I left that lesson on cloud nine. For the past three months I've worked so hard to help them understand our message and feel the spirit and make friends with the members and to stop by their house to remind him about church. I've begged the Lord in fervent prayer to touch their hearts and to help them accept the gospel because I can see them for who they can become. And the Lord is changing them.  I pray that they can continue progressing and allowing Christ's light to fill their lives.
This week we've talked about temples and family history a couple of times, and it's given me a chance to reflect on this beautiful aspect of the Gospel. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe in a just and merciful God. We know that for centuries Christ's church wasn't on the earth, and many died without the opportunity to accept the gospel and be baptized.  In 1 Peter 3:19 it says that Christ went and preached in the Spirit World, giving everyone the chance to hear and accept the Gospel. However, without bodies, the spirits are unable to be baptized and enter into God's kingdom. In first Corinthians 15:29, Paul mentions baptisms for the dead, a sacred ordinances that we do in behalf of those who have died without baptism. As we taught this ordinance to Fior and Ariel, A member who came with us said that being baptized for our ancestors unifies us. She said that she loves her mom, and her mom loves her mom, and the love we have ties us together. I had a similar experience when I was younger. My grandma asked me to be baptized for her mother Ruth Beatty. I don't have any memories of her, but I was able to do the ordinance for her, and now I can't wait to meet her after this life.
A Day in the DR:
This week my Spanish has been all over the place. We were visiting Ramon and he was asking us something about the Pope (el Papa), and I accidentally called him the Potato (la papa). I saw Ramon trying not to laugh. Later that day, instead of saying "advantage" I told someone that was the "window" of the situation.

Kelsea and hermana clove

Buenos dias!

Today was a wonderful P-day. Every transfer, we have one day where we are allowed to go to Santiago and go shopping or go to the mission office or the mission home, or whatever we need to do in Santiago, and since this is Hermana Clove's last transfer, we met up for ice cream. It was so fun to see her and hard to say goodbye. I told her that she was welcome to extend one more transfer so I wouldn't have to spend my last without her, but she didn't seem to think that was the best idea. haha I'm sure she's excited to be with her family again. Then we went to Hermana Funes' old area and had lunch with a member. It was a good day.

Well, Ramona's baptism has been postponed. The bishop had an interview with her on Sunday, and informed us that currently she is unable to be baptized. She was really sad, but she hasn't given up hope. She understands that there are certain things she is doing that are preventing her, and she said she is going to do everything to fix them. Even though she can't be baptized on Saturday, the bishop told us that we need to keep working with her because she is one special sister. So now we're working hard to get her boyfriend's divorce papers finalized so they can get married and she can get baptized. She is determined to everything she can, because she wants to be baptized so bad. We even got her son to go to church with her on Sunday, and he liked it! We've been working on that for a long time, and it was such a blessing. So we'll keep pressing forward!

We're still working hard with the Aquino family. They didn't go to church on Sunday, but Marino told us he wouldn't be able to because he didn't come back from Dajabon until Sunday afternoon. We brought a couple with us to their house, and they we're so helpful. Hermano Francisco was so direct and just talked about how amazing the gospel has been in his life. We taught about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and Francisco helped him understand the importance of sacrficing for the Lord. When we finished the lesson, Marino said "Hermanas, what chapter do you want to leave us?" He's such a great guy, and wants to accept the gospel, but since we can only visit him on Sundays, he loses his motivation during the week. I just hope they go this week! 

Funny story: A few weeks ago, we woke up and my companion said "The weirdest thing happened last night. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I realized that I had a piece of bread in my mouth and I was chewing it!" Then, Sunday night, she got up at 1:30 to go into the kitcken and get a piece of bread. I figured she was hungry, so I didn't say anything, but Monday morning, she said "I thought that I was going to get up a lot last night to go to the bathroom since I drank so much water, but I didn't even wake up." I asked if she was sure that she hadn't gotten up to do anything, and she said no, so I told her that she had gotten up to eat bread, and she was shocked. She had no idea! So she's been getting up in her sleep to eat bread! We had a good laugh about it.

Love, Hermana Jorden 

Buenas!

Wow, general conference was incredible. I had to watch it in Spanish, because my companion doesn't speak English, so I'll admit that I didn't understand quite a bit, but I could just feel how powerful those talks were. And now I can't wait for the magazine to come out! I love general conference. It broke my heart to see President Monson so weak, but I'm so excited for the three new apostles we have. I just didn't want conference to end. For those of you who weren't able to see conference, you can watch or read the talks at conference.lds.org.

Our lovely Ramona is on fire. She went to all four sessions, plus the Women's session the week before. She brought a friend to the Saturday morning session, and afterwards she was saying "Wasn't that so great? Isn't everything here so organized and nice?" She's a great little missionary. Sunday night, we went to her house to talk about her baptism. Before conference, we had invited her to go to the conference with a question in mind, and she told us that maybe she could try to know whether or not she should get baptized November 7th, or if she should wait a little longer. So on Sunday, we planned to talk to her about her baptism and help her understand that she is prepared. When we arrived, she told us that she received a lot of revelation in conference, and that one of the talks helped her understand that she doesn't need to know everything to be baptized. She said she's seen a lot of changes in her life and she knows that this church is good. She shared her testimony with us and said that she knows this church is true. So we invited her to be baptized Octuber 17th. and she said yes. She's incredible.

The Aquino family went to conference! I can't believe it! We've been teaching them for over two months, and they always tell us they'll go to church, but every week they don't show up. We considered dropping them because they weren't progressing, but every time we go to their house, I just see the father Marino and I know that he's going to be a great church leader some day. So I didn't give up hope. And they came. Marino, Noris, and Mabel. All three of them. Noris has always been the one who was least interested, but after the conference she thanked us so much for inviting her. They loved it. I was so happy!

Have a great week!

Hermana Jorden 

Kelsea by the avocado tree

They celebrated Elder Eddy's birthday.

Shelter from the pouring rain

A quick trip to the colmado down the street

Kelsea and some of her favorite missionaries.  hna Potter and hna Taukafa

Saludos!

The miracles are just coming and coming. I feel so blessed. Last week, we left with one of the counselors in the Young Women's presidency to find less active YW, and we ended up at her mother's house. Her mother has met with the missionaries before and has learned a lot, but she has some doubts and has never progressed. But we shared a message with them about receiving personal revelation and they were excited for us to come back. On Monday we had a Family Home Evening with them and Nicole and her husband, and we shared the message of the Restoration. Nicole told us that something she doesn't like is that we focus so much on Joseph Smith and not enough on Christ. We explained that the first lesson is focused on Joseph Smith because he is the prophet that restored the Gospel on earth once again, but once she believes and accepts that he was an instrument in the hands of God, she'll understand that everything is centered around Christ. I showed her a Book of Mormon, and told her that this book testifies of Christ, not of Joseph Smith. I read 2 Nephi 25:26 that says "we talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, prophesy in Christ...." She started smiling and look around at her family and said "Okay, now we're getting somewhere!" haha Nicole had her share some experiences that she's had with a conference that she attended or the times that she's prayed to know if the Church is true. We talked about how we feel the Spirit and that it sounds like God is speaking to her, and she said "I'm starting to feel the Spirit. These girls have the Spirit!" It was a really special lesson. It lasted two hours, but we were able to resolve some doubts that she has had for a long time. I hope she keeps progressing and opening her heart to let the gospel fill her life!

For the past two weeks, it has been really cloudy and thundering, but the sky is just teasing us because it isn't raining. So on Friday, we decided not to bring our umbrellas because we knew it wasn't going to rain. Well, we finished our first lesson and it started to pour. We ran for shelter under a building, but we were still getting wet, so a man grabbed us big pieces of cardboard to use to get to a different building. We waited out the rain for about 10 minutes, but we had a lesson to get to, so we decided to run home with our cardboard to grab jackets and umbrellas. We looked pretty silly but we sure had a good time!

Today I was thinking about this fast-paced world we live it. When something breaks, we buy a newer, better version. The value has been lost in homemade repairs and hardwork to fix something that was broken. Today I've been thinking about the value of broken things. Like us. Or our relationships with other people. Or our relationship with Christ. We are all broken, but we can be fixed. There are fewer things more joyous in life than the satisfaction of fixing something that was once broken or lost, like a restoration. If there is something in your life that just doesn't seem to be working out, don't give up. Ever. Keep pushing through, and some day you will see the beauty of all your hard work and feel the satisfaction of saving something once lost. Today I realized that broken things are the most valuable. 

A Day in the DR:

So, my companion has a large birthmark on her cheek by her mouth. It's really cute, and I know she likes it. We started visiting a less active family a couple of weeks ago, and the youngest son has a birthmark just like hers that goes from his eye down his cheek. After a couple of visits with them, he ask her what her birthmark is from. She told him that it runs in her family and the oldest child always has a birthmark like hers. He told her that his was from a sopao (a type of soup). I was really confused, so when we left I asked my companion what he was talking about and she told me that Dominicans believe that, during a women's pregnancy, if she ever has a craving that she doesn't eat, it creates a birthmark on their baby. What? The funny thing is that she knows exactly which craving it was that caused the birthmark. Dominicans are so funny.

Love, Hermana Jorden 

We are seeing so many miracles here in Navarrete.

Last Sunday, Hermana Ana Julia introduced us to her friend, Fior, at church and we put an appointment to visit her. Thursday was the first visit we had, and we talked about Christ. She thanked us so much for that lesson. From the first lesson I knew this woman was prepared because I could feel the Spirit in her house. She told us that a few months ago, her and her son, Ariel, went to their church and had a bad experience with the pastor, and decided not to go back. Soon afterwards, Ana Julia invited Ariel (9) to church, and when he got home, he said "Mom, it was wonderful. They are all so nice and they gave us candy and let us play and shared a really nice lesson. I wish I could go back tomorrow. I want to get baptized in that church." Then Ana Julia started inviting Fior to church, and she had asisted three times before we met her. She loves it. We taught her the Plan of Salvation, and every time we leave a pamphlet or a chapter in the Book of Mormon for her to read, she reads it over and over before we come back. She loves the things we are teaching. She had told us that a neighbor had made a comment to her about her house, and she's been anxious since then, so this Sunday the elders came over with us and gave her a blessing and blessed her house. The next day she thanked us so much for coming and blessing her house. She said she felt so much peace after we left, and she wants them to come over more often to give her blessings! haha On Monday we finished the Plan of Salvation with them, and invited them to be baptized. They answered with a resounding yes! They both really want to, and they are both so prepared. So, within a week of teaching them, we now have two baptismal dates for the 24th of October. Fior said "I know this church is true by the way Ana Julia lives her life." Remember, you never know how you can effect the lives of those around you. Let's always remember to be "examples of the believers," because we never know who is yearning for the gospel.

We've been working with a less active named Magdalena. She hasn't been to church in 12 years. A few of the things holding her back are that she doesn't like leaving the house other than to work or buy food, she feels like she needs to stay home and make lunch for her daughters, she's afraid they'll give her a calling, and the last time she went someone made fun of her for wearing pants. But Hermana Ely took us to her house a few weeks ago to meet her, and we've been working with her. Last Sunday we addressed all of her concerns, and I spoke rather boldly. I was just overcome with sadness at the thought of her not receiving the blesses of the Father. She wasn't offended, just overwhelmed. Since that lesson, she's been crying in all of the lessons. On Saturday, she said "I'm almost ready to go back to church." We invited her to go with us this Sunday and she said she would. So we passed by her house before church, and we was in her towel about to get in the shower. She told us she'd meet us there. Well, she never came. I was a little hurt. I truly believed that she was going to come. We stopped by last night and the first thing she said was "Hermanas! I was getting ready for church, and I was going to come, but when I was getting ready to leave the house, I couldn't find the key! I was locked it! I spent all morning looking for it and finally found it in my pants at 11:30. Satan was trying to beat me, but he can't!" She's a sweet lady. We'll get her to church this Sunday.

On Friday we had a zone conference with Elder Zivic, a counselor in the area seventy. He spoke with power and I hung onto every word. He really put me in my place. It was so refreshing. I left with new ideas of how to be better and dedicate myself more to the Lord's work. After the conference there was a special leader meeting with us and the zone leaders, and we talked with him about how to help the missionaries. It was such a pleasure to sit next to him and learn from him. He's an incredible man. 

Well, I can't believe it, but today starts my second-to-last transfer in the mission. 12 more weeks. It's so surreal. Hermana Funes and I are staying together, and we're going to work hard. The Lord is blessing us in so many ways. I love this gospel with all my heart!

Love, Hermana Jorden

Saludos!
Man, this hour just flies by! Sorry I don't have much time to write, but I just wanted to share about one of our investigators, Ramona. we met her contacting, and soon found out that she had a brother who is a member in our ward. The second week we visited her, she came to church with us and really liked it. We brought her with us to a baptism on Saturday, and even though she said she didn't really understand it, she really appreciated that the boy was being baptized at the age of eight, because it was his choice, and not because his parents did it to him as a baby. She came with us on Sunday, and when we arrived she told us that she had a friend who was going to meet her there. We met him, and it turns out that it's her boyfriend! And he's a member! What? She told him that she's going to the LDS church, and he told her that he was a member so she got him to go with him. He came on Sunday and said that he's here to stay, that he wants to come back. How amazing is that? She really liked church and when they talked about the Law of Chastity in Relief Society, she told us that she understood it and was going to start living it. She's amazing. We had a Family Home Evening that night with her family and a member family, and it was a lot of fun. She told us that the day we knocked on her door, she had been praying that the Lord would show her what path she needs to take, and that that day a member of another church was supposed to come over and read the Bible with her, but that she never came. But we did! That was really neat to see the Lord's hand in her life. Yesterday we had a lesson with her and invited her to be baptized, and she accepted! We put a date for November 7! Isn't the Lord so wonderful!
Love, Hermana Jorden

Saludos!

What a week! On Friday we had our sister meeting with all of the sisters from Navarrete and Dajabon. The theme was sunflowers and we based it off of the general conference talk by Quentin L. Cook, "The Lord is my Light."We had the sisters prepare capacitaciones on the attributes of Christ, and we talked about how the sunflowers follow the light, and how we as disciples of Christ must follow them. We made the cute handouts and flowers, and it was really nice.

We did quite a few intercambios this week, but my favorite one was with Hermana Seenaraine. We had a fun time talking about Bonao and being silly together. She's a cute sister. We also did intercambios with the sisters from Mao and Esperanza.

Sunday was marvelous! On Saturday, I fastsed for the Aquino family. I was sure that they were going to go to church and that we could put a baptismal date with them. We spent all day visiting our less actives and investigators, inviting them to church, and at the end of the day we visited the Aquino's to remind them, and they told us that they weren't able to come. That stung. I felt a little let down. My companion told me that sometimes the Lord's will isn't the same as ours, and I half joking told her that it should be. haha I still had a little hope that something would happen and they would be there at church the next day, but they didn't come. However, just about everyone else did! Ramona, the lady we contacted, walked with us to church and afterward told us that she really liked it and that she wants to keep going. Tonight we have a Noche de Hogar planned with her family and another family in the ward. Hopefully we can gain the confidence of her children so we can work together with them as a family. She has a brother she takes care of with Down Syndrome and he is so funny. I just love watching him and trying to talk to him. We also had two daugthers of a less active who went to church and said that next week they want to fast and pay fast offerings. We're going to work hard with them. Another investigator, Olga, told us that she was going to go to church, and so we asked her neighbor to walk with her to the church building, but she was sick, so she sent her grandchildren. We've been working hard with a few less actives as well, and many went to church on Sunday. It was so wonderful. We're really starting to hvae success here. So even though the Aquino family didn't go to church, it was still a great day. That evening we had a lesson with them, and we brought the Reyes family, and had a wonderful lesson with the father and the daughter, who has been attending seminary (the mother hides from us now because she's not interested). But the lesson was great and at the end I asked them if they would accept a date to be baptized. They both got nervous and laughed when I asked, but then the father got serious and said "Let's put the date, Hermana." They said they would be at church for sure this Sunday, and that they would read the Book of Mormon this week. They're so great! It looks like the Lord knows better than I. 

Hermana Jorden 

intercambios with Hna. Bonilla

"Ropaca in Esperanza. Everything for 25 pesos! I bought four jackets, a pair of pajama pants, and a skirt for less than four dollars! It was so fun!"

Buenas!

Things have been great this week! Luckily, Hurricane Erica passed us by. It was pretty windy but it hardly rained. So we were safe! Tomorrow my companion is going to Santo Domingo to renew her visa, so we're in Santiago, and I'll go to Navarette 1 to do intercambios with Hermana Potter until she gets back tomorrow night. We just did intercambios on Monday, but she's a lot of fun so we'll have a great time. 

On Sunday we planned to bring the Aquino family to a member family's house for a Noche de Hogar, but the father was out of town and the mother was at the salon, so only the 15 year old daughter, Mabel, was home. But she was excited to go so we brought her. We talked about the liahona and the importance of reading scriptures. While the family was commenting on the lesson, one of them mentioned seminary. Mabel didn't know what it was, so we explained it to her. After the lesson she asked what time it starts, so as we were walking her home, we asked if should wanted to go. She said she would love to! So we showed up to her house at 5:45 Monday morning and took her to seminary. One of the Young Woman that had met her last week offered to walk her home that day, and offered to pick her up every morning on her way to seminary. So now she's going every day, and last night we gave her a Bible to bring with her. She is such a sweet girl and she loves reading the pamphlets we give her and filling them out. She loves everything we teach her, and we're so excited to be teaching her. We're hoping that she gets her family to go to church this week!

One family that we teach is the Guzman family. They've been attending church for over a year, but they can't find their papers to get married to be able to get baptized. We're working, but progress is slow. We're hoping to get someone to go to Santo Domingo to find the papers. They are an old couple, and they're both very sick. Natividad, the man, has cancer. He usually comes to church, but sometimes he is in so much pain that he can't get out of bed. And they have no money because he can't work, and he has to buy a lot of medication. Things are just hard for that poor family, and they take care of their three crazy disobedient grandchildren. On Sunday, Natividad was really sick, so we brought the stake president and another brother to give him a blessing. When we arrived he could hardly move. He was in a lot of pain. They gave him the blessing and then we talked about their papers for a while, and when we left, he stood up and told us that he felt so much better! It was really neat!

Have a great week! Love,

Hermana Jorden 

Ps.  Picture-We found some gorritos en a colmado, so one of the members taught us how to do it. We're now dedicated tubi girls! 

Buenas!

It's been a great week in the blistering heat of Navarrete! Seriously, it's so hot. We were supposed to have a hurricane hit last night, and although I know that it could cause a lot of damage, we desperately need the rain. Eveything's dried up here, and we have a lot of people we teach that don't have any water. Saturday night it rained for about an hour, and one of the families we teach told us that it was such a blessing because they didn't know how they were going to be able to make dinner that night, but it rained and they were able to collect water to make food. We're hoping for some rain to cool this place off!

But things have been going really well. I just love my companion, Hermana Funes. We're having so much fun together, and it's been so good for my Spanish to have to speak all the time. On Sunday we visisted the Aquino family and talked about the purpose of Christ's life as well as the purpose of our life. We also talked about the power of faith and how it brings us to act. At the end of the lesson we invited them to be baptized once they know that our message is true. It was a slow nod, but they said that once they know they would be willing to be baptized. They're just a little scared, but we can tell that the father realizes how important this message is and just how powerful it can be if it really is the truth. His wife studies on Sundays in Santiago, so she can't go to church on Sunday, but her husband agreed to go, and he asked us to call him Saturday night to remind him. 

We had stake conference on Sunday. It's been so different serving in a stake and in such a big ward, but it's been a lot of fun. Our building is the stake center, so the whole ward got together to clean the building Thursday night, and the sessions were on Saturday and Sunday. I played the piano for the Sunday morning session. Yeah, that's right. I played the piano in stake conference. It was terrifying! Luckily, the new elder in our ward plays very well, so he agreed to play for the Saturday sessions, so I had less songs to learn, but it was stressful. I had never accompanyied anything before the mission! But I played the piano in sacrament meeting twice in Bonao, so it prepared me to play on Sunday. It was a good experience because it helped me realize that I can play better that I always allowed myself to think, but it was by no means perfect. But it gave me the desire to work hard and to develop that talent. 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Jorden 

Buenas!

This Sunday I saw the hand of God. A few weeks ago, we were contacting a found a family. Before we even introduced ourselves, the wife told us to come in and sit down (that's how they are here). We starting teaching them and they weren't super interested, but they were willing to listen. They're so great and such a nice family. We've been the past two Sundays to visit them, and this Sunday was incredible. We had planned to go with the bishop and his wife, but I got a little lost on the way to their house, but luckily we saw Hermano Perez and he took us to their house. They still hadn't gotten back from the church, so Hermano Perez decided to come with us. The lesson before we had talked about the Book of Mormon and left it with them, and on Sunday my companion talked about the evidence of the Book of Mormon in the Bible. As I watched them, I saw them start to change. They started to really consider what we were saying. Then I spoke about the need to seek revelation. I shared a story in 1 Nephi 15 about how Laman and Lemuel didn't understand the words of their father, and Nephi told them they had to ask in order to know. I told them that they can't expect God to reveal the truthfulness of our message, they have to work! At the end of the lesson, I asked if they had any questions, and the father said "What do you want us to read this week?" I could see that he truly felt the desire to learn, and I have been praying so hard this week that he feels the Spirit as he searches. If he does it with real intent, I know he will feel it. Then we were going to visit another sister, but she hid from us, so Hermano Perez took us to a lady that he had baptized three years ago. Her name is Maria, and she is wonderful. She was so excited to go to church. She told us that earlier that day she had told her from that she was ready to go back to her church. We have a lesson with her tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how she progresses. The Lord really quided us on Sunday, it was a really special day for me. 

Hermana Jorden

with sandra

Constanza

The Lockharts

Hna Seenaraine and kelsea

Sisters meeting at La Vega

The District

Cheyen "I just love this girl"

Kelsea said this is the Vasquez family and they are incredible!

The Gabrieh family

Kelsea with Yamile

Navarrete the Polanco's baptism

Kelsea with Hna. Zegarra on exchanges

Kelsea and Hermana Anderson