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!