Saludos!

What a week! Things are going so well in Navarrete. The area is pretty small, which is such a blessing because I feel like there just isn't enough time! We're in a ward, and the members are wonderful. Last Wednesday we had our meeting with the ward mission leader, and the ward leaders were there and giving us ideas about what we could do to help and giving out assignments to help these people. Wow, it was wonderful. 

On Friday, our ward mission leader got his mission call. We all got together for him to open it, and it was so fun. It reminded me of how excited I was to receive my mission call (just go to YouTube for those of you who don't remember haha). It gave me a renewed excitement for the mission. After being a missionary for over a year, it's just my life, and sometimes I think I forget how exciting and amazing it is to serve a mission. I was really grateful to have been there to celebrate with him.

On Saturday, we had two baptisms! The sisters had been working so hard with a family, and a month ago the father and the oldest son were baptized, and this weekend the younger son and daughter were baptized. They're a really special family. They have a lot of love for the sister who just left, so I think they're just a little bitter towards me for taking her place, but I'm trying to gain their confidence. haha It was a really nice baptism.

On Monday we had our first intercambios! Since I'm new to the area, this transfer I'll be the sister who goes to everyone's area to do intercambios with them, and one of the sisters will come to Navarrete to be with Hermana Richarson. So I went to Esperanza to be with Hermana Anderson. It was so fun. She's an amazing missionary. We're from the same group, so we'll go home together. We actually got together before the mission and had lunch, so we had a lot of fun being together. We stayed up a little late talking together, and the next day, I fell asleep offering a prayer in one of our lessons! haha I learned my lesson! 

On Tuesday, the office elders called and told us that one of the sisters in the zone would be going home, so her companion, Hermana Taukafa is in a trio with us until they find her a mini. She's so fun. She's a sweet Tongan sister from Australia, and she has the cutest accent. It's been fun to be with her. 

It was a crazy week, but I'm loving things here in Navarrete, and I hope I can give these people my all! I love the Lord and the blessings He gives me!

Hermana Jorden

A Day in DR:

In this country, there are always issues with the light and water. Every missionary house doesn't have running water, or there is no electricity between 10 and 4, or the house floods when we use the toilet, etc. It wouldn't be a missionary house, or a Dominican house for that matter, if there wasn't some sort of issue. haha In Jarabacoa, the water came out of the shower head, but it was never more than a trickle. And in Bonao, when we used the shower head, it all ran onto the floor, so we always used buckets. But here in Navarrete, the shower works perfectly fine. So I took a normal shower. And I felt so guilty. I took it as fast as I could because I felt like I was wasting so much water. So the next day I started turning on the shower to get wet, and then to rinse off, and I feel a lot better. haha It's funny how the mission changes you.