WEEK 32: "Thus Saith the Lord."

STARKE, FL
COMPANION:  ELDER COLLETT

Ohhhhhhhhhhh this week was fun.

Let's start with a few lines I found in an old general conference talk. 

"I ask no dream, no prophet's ecstasies/ No sudden rending of the veil of clay/ No angel visitant-no opening skies/ But take the dimness of my soul away."

I liked it. it requires no commentary.

This week Elder Collett had some choice descriptions of me that I would like to pass on. One day we were walking side by side and he looked over at me and said, "You have this one expression on your face all the time. I don't know what it is or how to describe it. It's a smile but it's like... sarcastic maybe? I don't know." I let him struggle for the words for a while, and then I recommended. "Smirk?" "YES! You SMIRK!"

Hehehehe, I've heard that once or twice. Yes, I do smirk. I think that's just the way my face was made. I smirk because I know something. And I want other people to know it. The other comment from my companion was, "You bear your testimony to every single person that we talk to!" I'm not sure it was meant as a compliment but it is true. NOBODY escapes! Muahaha!

We get ourselves into some wonderful situations. I find myself shouting across busy streets, asking for contact information from people I don't know, an receiving it! I find myself hearing, "Come in!" after knocking on a random door, and am a little startled to hear a voice impossibly like my own responding, "Alright!", and feet very much resembling mine carrying me over the threshold into strange houses, hallways, bedrooms or kitchens or porches or living rooms, and testifying of the savior, the prophet, the Book of Mormon, and the restored gospel before anyone is really sure who I am or how I came to be standing in front of their TV!

Who the heck says, "Come in!"???? It has happened several times. Every time it has resulted in a new investigator. It leads me to a thought: What you invite in is important. And when someone invites YOU in, say YES! Random preachiness out of the way. Back to stories.

Some of these stories I'm not so sure about honestly. We do some ridiculous things. I had the opportunity to act as voice in a priesthood blessing and I felt impressed to REBUKE the sickness. Cool word choice by the spirit there. One man we are helping to prepare for baptism and when we pulled up to his house we saw him lighting a cigarette. So we woke up some of his neighbors who are members, sat them all down at a table outside, taught the Word of Wisdom, and committed him to live it. It started raining almost immediately but we just went right on going. You should have seen the look on the cable guy's face working next door. I tried to commit him to live it too but he ducked behind the house when he saw me coming. We'll get him next time!

Oh there are so many stories. One day we drove way out to a neighboring city to visit someone we have been teaching at their home for the first time. We got to this tiny town with houses spread WAY apart, of course it was pouring rain, and the dirt roads were, in some places, 100% under water, when we realized we knew the STREET but not the house number. But we were DETERMINED. So we drove to the end of the road, (driving through fields to avoid the rivers that had developed in the roadway), my companion started on one side and I started on the other, and we SPRINTED from house to house through the mud and rain, knocking on doors and asking, "Does Brittany live here? Do you know Brittany? Does Brittany live anywhere on this street? Have you ever met a Brittany in your life? WHERE IS BRITTANY? DO YOU KNOW JAPAN????" It was ridiculous. Apparently a member drove by and saw us and told the whole ward and everyone was laughing about it for a week. At one point I was being chased by no fewer than FOUR dogs from individual houses (of course no one has ever heard of a LEASH in this town) as I jumped fences and dodged some very pro-gun neighbors in my search on the right side of the road, and my companion was having just as many adventures on the left side.

And you know what? WE FOUND BRITTANY. In the LAST house on the street. Of course. Sometimes we start knocking doors on one side of the street, and then get in the car and drive to the other side, because that one golden person is ALWAYS in the last house so we try to just skip the in-between bit. Anyway, that was a hilarious, muddy adventure. I've never felt so good and looked so ridiculous in my entire life.

The secret is to ignore "no". People say no to us all the time. Yesterday we invited a man to church and he said no SEVEN times in a conversation before finally he agreed and showed up to sacrament meeting.

Oh! Another funny story. This is the deep south, the belt buckle of the bible belt. Everyone, EVERYONE has been baptized. Inviting people to be baptized is something of a struggle. So yesterday halfway through the first lesson I said to one of our investigators who has firmly refused to be baptized, "Do you believe what we are teaching?" "...Yes." "Then will you join the church?" "...Yes!" "Excellent! There is a little ceremony involved. We will teach you more about it saturday." Hehehe, we'll see how THAT conversation goes.

One of my favorite stories from the week happened right after I returned to my area after serving briefly in a neighboring city for a companion exchange. I was happy to be home, and feeling a little extra exuberance. We saw some people doing yard work several lanes of traffic away. We immediately stopped in our tracks and sprinted across the road straight for them, offering to help pull weeds. They refused, protesting that we were too nicely dressed (and probably a little bit terrified of these two strange men running at them). We kept coming and offered again, and they refused. Well we did what any normal person would do, we broke eye contact, pretended not to hear them, dropped our supplies unceremoniously in their grass, and dove into the mulch to begin digging out weeds. I have no idea what their faces must have looked like but I am certain the expressions were priceless. The young couple knelt beside us and returned to their work, and the woman asked my companion almost the same moment the man asked me their personal wording of this question: "What is it that you believe that makes you do what you are doing?"

They received the message. We taught while we worked, we're going back Wednesday, they are reading their new Books of Mormon with fervor. But that questions sticks with me. We are asked it over and over in a million ways. In words, in a raised eyebrow, in an exasperated acceptance of an offer to serve, people are constantly wondering, "WHY?"

Because God told me to. Because His spokesman stood before an audience of millions and proclaimed to a world of billions: "Thus Saith the Lord..." He spoke of Missions, Temples, the Word of Wisdom, Tithing, the Law of Chastity, the Book of Mormon, the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Eternal Marriage, and Priesthood. He told us that they came from God; that God has given, and that He expects us to receive.

God speaks to men. He appeared to Joseph Smith. He blesses and uplifts and instructs and supplicates and comforts and COMMANDS. These commands are not negotiable. Life must be lived within certain boundaries. Happiness is to be acquired in one divinely appointed way. We stand in streets and on pavement and at pulpits and in doorways and proclaim as duly ordained ministers of the true church of Jesus Christ, called by His prophet and appointed by revelation, that God lives, that He has waited long enough! ENOUGH! Enough of pain and sin. Ebnough of sadness and cruelty and hatred and filth. It is time to throw such evil and waste behind ourselves. It is time to drop everything and COME! Come to Him. Come and see. Come and live His way. Come and be so gloriously, incredibly, absurdly happy that you type in all caps in your letters home. We do what we do because the will of God has been relayed to us and we are commanded to obey it. We declare that man's wandering in darkness is over, that Elohim has heard our cries, and He sent His son to deliver us from an ancient Foe. There is a kingdom now of priests. An holy nation. A promised land dotted by temples, led by Seers and Revelators, emanating light, radiating faith. I am an Elder in the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the same order of Priesthood to which  Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses belonged. I am endowed with power from on high, I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Christ, and I have sacrificed everything I have ever owned, and everything I have ever been, to travel thousands of miles and stand today and invite you to COME. To hear the words of God that come pouring from my mouth, and to OBEY them. To believe, to repent, and to be baptized by the Priesthood authority of God. You will be happy forever. You will join this peculiar people in a sweetness of joy and a fullness of purpose that dwarfs all other emotions and endeavors. Thus Saith our God, you shall have Eternal Life. My companion and I know it, we bind our lives, our souls, and our destinies to it, and we cannot deny it.

And that is why we are weeding your yard.

I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I love my Comforter, the Holy Spirit. I love my companion, Elder Collett. I love my brothers and sisters living in Starke Florida. I am a little missionary, one of tens of thousands in the world. There is nothing special about me, but there is something unimaginably unique in what I say. For I have a message, which Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of the Lord, invites all men everywhere to heed. My message is that the Lord speaks and the very universe trembles and hastens to obey. Sometimes He does it through me, and I watch the word of God propelled by my voice to the shaping of the cosmos. It is a privilege and an honor for which I am not adequately equipped to express my thanks. I am less than nothing, for even the void responds more immediately to its Creator than does my own stubborn, weak, and willful heart. But I try so hard. So very hard. And I am not afraid.

These are my blessings, and this is my testimony for this week. No one is more aware than I of how woefully unworthy I am of them, and so I can only be as grateful as I know how to be. Thank you for reading, and for sharing my fun. The Church is true, every word. I know it, because Jesus Christ said it. And every time I share my pitifully inadequate testimony, there is an unspoken and beautiful preface attached by the Holy Ghost:

"Thus Saith the Lord"

Amen.

~Elder Jorgensen

WEEK 31: Do You Know Japan?

STARKE, FL
COMPANION:  ELDER COLLETT

My companion and I run around getting ourselves into ridiculous situations. This week we walked up to a man and asked,
     "Do you know Japan?" We were thinking of one of our investigators and he was thinking of the country, so a hilarious conversation ensued. 
     "What?" 
     "Do you know Japan?" 
     "... I don't know." 
     "You don't know if you know Japan?"
     "WHAT?" 
     "Is Japan here?" 
     "No, Japan is somewhere else." 
     "So you know where Japan is?" 
     "Yes." 
     "But I thought you didn't know Japan!" 
     "WHAT?  How could I KNOW JAPAN? Who are you people?" 
     "We're missionaries! Can we talk to Japan?" 
     "What are you SAYING?" 
     "Okay sir, let's start over.  What is a phone number that we can reach Japan on?" 
     "I don't know that!" 
     "Well, can you give us any information at all? When was the last time you SAW Japan?" 
     "I've never been to Japan!!!!!!!" 
     "What?? I thought you said you know where Japan is!  Who are you?" 
     "Who are YOU?"
     "We're the missionaries!! 
     We are looking for Japan!" 
     "WHAT? WHY??"
     "Well, so that we can share a message about Jesus Christ." 
     "You can do that HERE!" 
     "Great! Can we start so a prayer?" 
     "What? No! Not with me, in America!" 
     "Not with you in America??? Where else would we do it?"
     "JAPAN!" 
     "You'd like us to teach you with Japan? That would be
perfect! When will Japan be here?" 
     "...WHAT????????"

Etc.

The conversation went on for a significant amount time. When we finally realized the misunderstanding, we just burst out laughing. We didn't even say anything else. We just laughed ourselves to tears. It was wonderful. Never did find Japan.

That story is pretty indicative of the week. I want to emphasize, needlessly I am sure, that I am not the best missionary. But I may be enjoying myself the most. Missionary work is HARD. Super hard. But when you give up on anything ever going according to plan or the way you think it should, it gets very easy. We just go out and preach the gospel, even to people who don't know Japan. And we share our testimonies. To hostile boyfriends and kind retirees, over the phone to out-of-state relatives and over fences to the bewildered neighbors who most certainly do not know Japan. In Pizza Hut to the waitress that I drank myself sick on water to get to keep coming back to the table until we finally set an appointment with her, and in the middle of the street to kids playing basketball. No one escapes! Muahahaha!

And neither do you, sweetest family. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. Ours is not a casual relationship. Mine is not a fleeting hope. It is a sweet assurance and a conviction born of a depth and intimacy I cannot describe. That this is His church, that the Book of Mormon is His word, and that every single word that comes from the mouth of our Prophet deserves that sacred epithet "Thus Saith The Lord" is my inescapable testimony. I love you. I love it. So much.

********

Letters Home

Excerpts to Kent:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I am absolutely wearing my brightest green tie. No pinching for me! I have been healthyish. Nothing to keep me on bed or anything. We are finding tons of people to teach. They just appear from nowhere. To quote one fabulous movie, "They just pop out of the snow! Like daisies!"

Goodness I would love to hear that talk from Bishop Konold! He is an incredible man. Happy Anniversary to grandma and grandpa Carpenter!
The relationships we have are the sweetest part of life. I can't even tell you how grateful I am for how much more I appreciate our family since being on a mission! I may not be able to find the words for my feelings, but you'll see the evidence for a looooooooong time.
Eternity is the perfect place to be a family.

I am so glad they are playing chess!!! I am way out of practice.
Cassidy's sweet compliments touch me deeply. They make me want to be the person she seems to think I am!

Thank you so much for your concern and generosity. It has been an incredible prove page to want for nothing my entire life and I know I have you to thank. Your willingness to help prompted me to splurge on naked juice at the store today!! Hehehee but I am usually exceedingly frugal and all my needs are met just fine. Thank you. I love you.

************

Excerpts to the Family

Let's tell a story or two.

Last night. Ohhhhh last night. So we're sitting down to teach a less active member in a member's home, and the family pulls out the Saratov Approach. Well we can't watch the Saratov Approach, so we leave, offending them slightly but oh well. So we stop by one of our investigators houses. He is burning his porkchops and only has time to say at he'll see us the next day at 12, right in the middle of P day. Then the bishop calls and tells us to drain and clean the baptismal font, also during p day hours. Then we are led by what was either the spirit playing a prank on us or just a random set of feelings to a young couple sitting by the road. We taught them and prayed with them and committed them and everything in the dark by the side of the road in what was easily the most awkward experience of my entire life. Then we wandered around the neighborhood, trying to find a way to get home without passing by them again. Then our iPads wouldn't sync so we couldn't report numbers properly. All in an hour.

One hour! A comparatively uneventful hour at that!! Was it successful? Was it terrible? It was hilarious is what it was. The Lord was like, "Want to teach? Want to find some new people? Want appointments? Alright, let's see how you do with THIS!" The district leader asks how our week was every Monday morning, and my response is always, "A whirlwind of adventure!" He has yet to laugh, but it always makes me smile.

Elder Collett is deathly allergic to bees. So we had some fun sprinting away from giant bumblebees of death in the throes of irrational terror this week. He's actually pretty relaxed about it, I'M the terrified one. Vicarious terror.

We met our neighbors! The conversation goes more or less like this:

"We're not interested! Go away, you oddly dressed children."

"No no, we're your neighbors."

"Oh! Well don't I feel foolish! Come on by sometime and teach me the gospel."

Not everyone is that friendly but Donny is great and if Barbara ever comes back into town we will start teaching her too! It's a great approach. We've started telling people we're their neighbors all over town. "We're the new neighbors! We just moved in a few houses down! Give or take 20 miles. When can we come by and get to know y'all?"

Interviews with the mission president are tomorrow. I am going to ask him about six month mission extensions. Apparently the requests are not granted under any circumstances. I've got two years to wear him down so I'd better get started!

Those are my stories. Do you have any advice on how to prepare rice and beans? Love you! I need lots of encouragement! 

I'm not sure why. I love it here. I have everything I want or need. My companion and I are best friends. i laugh all the time. The pain from my various parts can be excruciating but is swallowed up by the work. We are having more success than this area has ever had. We get calls from the zone leaders and emails from the mission president lauding the success The Lord has provided.

So why am I so TIRED? Why doesn't The Lord fill up my cruse with oil and my barrel with meal instead of making one handful last and last?? Why does he wait until I have stopped breathing to bring me back to life?? Rhetorical questions. I am deeply grateful for the reminders of from whence my strength comes. I love the opportunity to seek daily manna sufficient to sustain another day. It's a miracle getting up every morning, because every night I go to bed thinking, "Well, I am never getting out of bed again! Fetch me some cookies and a book or two, I shall not be moved."

I guess if The Lord can move mountains, He can pull me from under the covers.

I love being a missionary. I love the training that my life has been for this, and that this is for my life. I hope to be different. I hope to be better. I have hope, and so life is sweet, and tomorrow will be sweeter.

Love,

-Elder Jorgensen

***********

Nope, no leprechauns. We have no food dye! But I did wear my green tie to the store!

 …….

 I always wonder what impact the wives had in the Book of Mormon. Laman and Lemuel get a lot more intense after they get married (they pick up the girls and immediately try to murder Nephi for the first time), and Nephi seems a lot more of a man (hunting of his own accord says PROVIDER and PATRIARCH to me a lot more than the first 10 chapters).

I am SO glad they are playing chess!! I love that game. It's good for you. I should actually learn how to play at some point. Courtney is great at it I can't wait to have her whip me in two years. I love you.

WEEK 30: Sometimes We Chase People

STARKE, FL
COMPANION:  ELDER COLLETT

Life is pretty great sometimes. For example, I am enjoying a gorgeous day I'm Florida. I sit here, in my over-stuffed recliner, munching on my banana, and life just seems to come naturally. It's a pretty good time.

Sometimes though, life doesn't drop into your lap. There were days like that this week. Sometimes we packed ourselves full of snicker doodles and had whole days of scheduled appointments with investigators. And other days we did not. 

The "not" days were my favorite. One "not" day we woke up in the morning with 10 investigators with baptismal dates and went to sleep that night with 3. One "not" day we were out street-contacting over an hour walk from our house and it started pouring rain so hard we could not see straight. It was a long walk home and several days before I felt truly dry again.

The fun days are fun. I had blueberry waffles prepared by a master chef and almost died of happiness. We split cedar logs and were given quite a bit of the wood to keep in the corners of our house and now all of my clothes smell like cedar. We had a ridiculous amount of success. We saw our brothers and sisters grow closer to Father. We laughed until our faces hurt about jokes I can't even remember.

But the "not" days are better. We committed over a dozen people to come to church. Solid people. Even had rides arranged for them. Contacted them Saturday night and it was all solid. Well not one of them came. And I was not pleased. But someone else came. A man we had never met walked in with a less-active member and we have an appointment with all of them on Tuesday. I guess that's not a good example of a "not" days. I'm sorry. I can't help it if they're all good ones.

We had occasion to answer the question "To what do you attribute this level of success?" We answered that it's about talking to everyone, and teaching everyone you talk to. But it's more than that really. It's about ignoring the word "no". It's about smiling even when you're insulted and inviting even when you're a little bit afraid of the situation you're in. And sometimes, it's about chasing people.

One day we taught a man a lesson in the middle of the street. I think he expected us to go away but we just kept talking, and before he realized what was happening he was reading in the Book of Mormon with us and praying about Joseph Smith. He is an outside sort of older fellow with none of his teeth. From then on, whenever we saw him, no matter what, we leapt from our vehicle and talked to/taught him. Occasionally he would try to turn down back alleys, but we always caught him, and gradually he came to be engaged as we worked our way through the discussions, mostly as he walked very purposefully around town. He expressed his love for us and even committed to be baptized at the end of the month!

I debated telling this story. There's no miracle at the end. Finally he dropped us and we don't see him around much anymore. But there is a moral! Sometimes you just have to chase people. Or things. Sometimes they walk into church and ask to be taught, but sometimes you power-walk across Starke testifying about the Resurrection, Judgement, and Immortality to a man you know nothing about as he pursues some nameless errand with an air of serious urgency. We do all we can do, we love as deeply as we can love, we testify as loudly and as often as is possible, we dream as fervently as we can and sometimes, if we're lucky, we get to chase those dreams.

Sometimes we chase people.

-Elder Jorgensen

********

Letters Home

Excerpts to Mom:

Hehehe my accent is terrible. No southern drawl just a lot of y'all. I'm working on it though! The only thing I learned to cook was oats. Oats are tasty. I will try to learn lots of things and be a master chef. Mmmmm Daddy's Japanese food is to die for. If you but a deep-fryer I can show you how to cook all SORTS of things! Hehehee. Oooooh we had these unbelievable waffles the other day. Not even sure how many I ate. Probably the most standard favorite though is the biscuits, which are served with every meal. The ward will feed us once or twice a week. Ish.

That is fantastic news!!!! A baptism!!!!! Wow good for _______. That is a hard, hard road. Pass on my love and encouragement will you? I love the idea of having found/prepared Dr. Jensen for him. That makes me feel really good. The mission has revealed so many weaknesses I don't know how to keep up! Every time I get enough emotional duct tape gathered to hold one together 7 more pop up! Thank goodness for progress!! I had no idea how much fixing I need. Let everyone know I will be loving to the very respectable age of 10,012 to have time to work through it all. Sigh. Maybe Christ will take care of it sooner. He IS pretty great...

Poor Cassidy. I really do not like that rejection feeling. But it is wonderful that Katie had so much fun!!! Hehehee ohhh Missoula. It would be fun to do plays with the girls. I bet YOUR play is the talk of the town! It sounds incredible!! I will clap for you from here. Whoa!!!!! Cameron going to general conference? That is HUGE!!!! Goodness gracious that made my whole day! What a fantastic experience. Can I come??

Hehehe scripture chase sounds fun. I love you too. I'd write more but my companion wants very much to play basketball.

A noble father followed through

He gave his life and yet he knew

His daughters, mothers to nations would be

Across the fickle, raging sea

Love you.

**

There are sister missionaries in our ward. I spoke in church on Sunday about what effect my mission has had upon me and my family. After sacrament meeting one of the sister's investigators asked me to perform her baptism. It's the first weekend in April. I'm so grateful. I'm so nervous. I'm giddy.

***

I forgot that you are in nursery!! Lucky. 

Riddles:

1. that's faithful hid for 2, the one that heard he never knew.

2.  Sticklers for what they called heaven

Jesus taught beware their leaven!

3.  A temple dark and without paint

A hole made man into a saint

No name its hunch-backed captives freed

In thirty nine it saw God's word indeed.

Whoops. None of those are for first Nephi. Sorry. Love you!

*******
Excerpts to Grandad:

"Quandry" is an excellent word. Last week my word of choice was "verbose". This week I think it will be "pith".

I love to hear about anything, honestly. It will probably make sense if I tell you why. As you know, I have aggressively passionate feelings about reading. Well we're only allowed to read the scriptures and emails here, and we only get an hour a day for the scriptures. I'm a little reading deprived. Whatever you write, I enjoy. I love being in someone else's mind and seeing the world through their eyes. Whether you write about family or routine or the gospel or anything else, I get to experience those things (which of itself, brings the spice of variety to my week) and experience them from your perspective! It's fun no matter what it is.

I'm not sure that made any sense. Hopefully it did.

Wow it sounds like everyone is having fun adventures!! I love how closely knit our family is. I had no idea that it was such a rare thing in the world until I began serving as a missionary. I have you and Grandma to thank for that blessing in my life. It is a paradigm that will shape the earthly and post-earthly life of me, and of my entire posterity.

The weeks are definitely trending upwards. I cannot wait to see what this one brings.

WEEK 29: How To Do Whatever the Heck You Want

STARKE, FL
COMPANION:  ELDER COLLETT

This week I did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to do it.

It was probably the best week of my life.

I heard once that license is not liberty. As we teach people the commandments, it has been a challenge to teach them in such a way so as not to present these truths and supports as restrictions and rules. They are not restrictions with punishments attached. They are instructions with blessings promised. Looking at the Church as a restriction comes from the false notion that there is happiness to be found outside of the bounds it sets.

There is not.

Ominous.

The world beyond the gospel of Jesus Christ offers no happiness. No smile. No satisfaction. No light. There is nothing but pain, starvation, desperation, sadness, darkness, and chill outside of the sacred bounds of God.

This sounds harsh, but it is true! EVERYTHING good, happy, or hopeful in this world comes from Father and Jesus Christ. Without them, there is NOTHING. Often we imagine the gospel as adding to all this beauty and fruit that exists in the world of babylon. We think, "Well I will just enjoy life on it's own merits for a while and then begin to live the gospel." This is stupid! There is no merit! There is nothing without Christ! We are born in agony and filth, we immediately begin to suffer and decay, we endure an agonizing struggle simply to acquire the nourishment necessary to exist until we are overcome by rot and cease to be.

But in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are born pure. We immediately begin to grow and experience and come closer to Him. Every moment of effort adds to our growth, and our eternal endowment grows as intelligence, relationships, and family are added to our lives. Even pain is redemptive, and joy is the sweeter for being mere preparation. Finally, we are adequately prepared to return to our homes, and our adventure truly begins.

What a CONTRAST. The only things worth wanting are the good things. Someone once said (I apologize for the inexact nature of these references. The authors deserve more attention than the constraints of time permit me to give) "The purpose of life is to find your purpose in life and then to do it!" The greatest blessing that I anticipated receiving as a missionary, which has proved to be infinitely greater than I imagined and yet not nearly so wondrous as others I have received in these short weeks, was that every moment of every day, I would know my purpose.

Armed with the knowledge that "Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end", and empowered with the assurance of where happiness is to be found sealed by the understanding of the exact nature of the relationships of the commandments with freedom, I was prepared for something glorious.

I got to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to do it. I was 100% free. No ancient despot or mythical sorcerer, no fish's fin or eagle's wing rivaled the degree and the intensity of the freedom that I enjoy. Never have there been so many rules to follow! Never has my schedule been so precise! Never have I been in any state which begins to profess to approach that level of absolute liberty with which my life is SOPPING, SOAKING wet. I freaking sweat freedom.

And it's pretty nice. Let's see what I did with it.

We chased someone across town. We were on the wrong side of the street and she just kept walking and we had to dodge traffic and couldn't keep up. Finally we lost her. We looked around where we were, saw someone to talk to, and ended up making that person a new investigator.

We saw two men in their front yard. We crossed five lanes of traffic (no stoplight and busy roads, so we literally dodged cars) and followed them around to the back of their house. They were watching NASCAR. We sat down and taught lessons at commercial breaks. One woman refused to read the book of mormon. When she said that we kind of wanted to invite her to church. She's excited to come on sunday and we have a phone number to call and remind her.

One day we wanted to go walking in the POURING rain. There was so much rain, the noise from it made even intimate conversations a shouting match. The man we met sitting in the middle of the storm is now a progressing investigator. We wanted to walk down a completely empty street where we have never met anyone. The woman who walked out of her door AS we passed her house had trouble committing to read the book of mormon because she believed so deeply it was true (after one lesson with us right there in her front yard) that she didn't see any need to pray about it. We'll be talking about what she learned from reading Alma 7 tomorrow morning.

Another morning we were pretty exhausted and felt like enjoying some sunshine. We went and met the neighbors. We are now teaching two families on our street. We knocked on one door that looked fun and the man just said, "come in!" He was fixing the pilot light to his furnace and apparently thought we were someone else. He forcefully informed us that he was baptist and did NOT want to become a mormon. We didn't want to leave. We kind of felt like hanging around. So we walked through the doorway and said, "Well, can we share a message about Jesus Christ while you work?" He shrugged, invited us to sit down, and by the end of the first lesson asked for a Book of Mormon before we could offer it and committed to be at church.

One time we wanted to walk on the railroad tracks. We like the smell of wood and iron. We found a family to teach right on the spot and an inactive woman whose non-member fiancee has just asked her to pick a church for him to join. One time we liked the look of an older house and a beautiful cobblestone road. The family walking by referred us to a man anxious to learn more. One day we felt particularly ridiculous and pulled out our iPads and just started playing movies from the Mormon Messages collection for anyone who walked by. Vernon is excited to see more movies at our appointment with him tomorrow.

We do whatever we want, whenever we want to. We speak or remain silent, walk or drive, study or preach, eat and drink with absolute freedom. We can do this because we love our God. We can do this because we truly only have one desire: to make Him happy. To see Him pleased. To somehow, some way, even with the puny resources allotted to these mortal frames, perform some action that puts a smile on the exalted face of the Creator of the cosmos. What glorious activity! What fun.

And we do have fun. We get ourselves into some pretty ridiculous situations sometimes, and have some pretty different conversations. One man said, "I LOVE you guys!" and "The Book of Mormon is CRAP!" in the same sentence. One afternoon we sorted through hundreds of heads of rotting cabbage. One woman asked if she could kiss our feet. One man curled into a ball beneath his truck and remained completely silent and motionless until we left. One woman demanded food, got a folder full of important-looking documents, and lit them on fire. One man pulled over, accosted us on the road, and asked us to come to his home and minister to his dying father, which we absolutely did. One family had 26 dogs.

We do what we want.

I wanted to be good, and so there were no rules stopping me. I did good, and so there were no blessing denied me. My freedom and my happiness know no bounds for their is no limit to the goodness that can be accomplished and received through my sacred Savior Jesus Christ. It was a pretty wonderful week. I want so badly for the experience to be repeated forever. I want it to widen and be shared. So many of you are teaching me every day how to do what I want. For those of you who don't: Try it! Come and see! Do whatever you want whenever you want to and be happier every moment for it. All it takes is loving God with all your heart.

You want to know a secret? I'm terrible at it. I'm a pretty terrible missionary. I'm just wandering around out here. Most of the time the only thing I love with all my heart is the thought of a nap and a slice of cake. I don't know what the heck I'm even saying half the time! Halfway through a sentence I'll be thinking, "Wow, that was different. I wonder where I'm going with this. Who is this person again? I should probably find out." and the next words out of my mouth are, "We are holding a baptismal service on March 23rd. Will you prepare yourself to be baptized by someone who holds the proper priesthood authority of God on that date?"

But I do love Him as best I can. I guess that is enough.

I'm just a lost child having fun out here. I don't mean to sound preachy or pretentious. Life is just a playground and I'm going backwards up the slide. Sometimes the other kids laugh. ALWAYS I laugh. But even though the names of the people and the streets and what exactly I'm doing or saying is REALLY a little fuzzy sometimes, I'm doing it because I love Father. That's the only reason I can think of. And I guess it's working. And I'm having the time of my life.

I love you.

~Elder Jorgensen

********

Letters Home

Excerpts to Mom:

Hi Mama!

Theoretically yes! Yes I can! However, we do not have wi-fi at our house and Elder Collett likes to DO things on Pday. Last week we hunted squirrels (we are way out in hickville town population nobody here) and played basketball, right now we are on our way to do something with somebody (I'm just along for the ride here...). I check mail about 10 AM (7 your time) and may or may not have the opportunity to check it again. This week I got lucky. So please do not procrastinate the writing of letters! I thought the mudslides washed you all away this week!!

I will wave to Daddy. Helloooooooooo Daddy!

Every week I buy between 5 and 10 pounds of bananas and eat them immediately. Mondays are wonderful.

I swear Courtney and I are twins. We will be homeboy homebodys.

Sigh. I might have to wait until next week to read your letter! But I love you anyway. I guess.

Hehee.

Elder Collett says this was the best week of his mission. It's possible it was the best of mine. He and I are very good friends. We are constantly joking and laughing and enjoying what we're doing.……..

It's nice. We have fun. There were 72 people in church on Sunday so it's a pretty small ward. We're going to build it up.

It feels nice, to be doing something good. I have so many thoughts. Every day there is so MUCH that trying to put down all the trials, tribulations, paradigm shifts, successes, miracles, and transformations is impossible. Hopefully I don't need to. Hopefully it will show.

***

How's the rain? How's life? Mine is pretty great. And natural. And easy. And WORK. I like fruit so much! Yum. That's all. Questions? Let me know.

P.S. You are great. Just great. I had no idea how great. What a wonderful family and spirit and mother and home. What a fantastic education and upbringing. What a beautiful world you and Dad created and create for me. I am so absurdly, ridiculously blessed.

Just for the record, I am willing for ANY adventures. Skydiving? Backpacking? Beach camping? Europe touring? Bicycling? Crazy recipes? Ridiculous book clubs? Adventure can come anywhere and I like it all. I like the memories they create and the pure fun. I also like naps. And just not ever doing anything ever! Hehehe today I just sat down in the sunshine and held perfectly still for an hour. My companion thought it was a little nuts. I loved it. And music. Goodness I love music. Elder Collett has a lot of fabulous music. What else do I like? Everything. List the good, and you'll never find time for the bad. I'm coming up on the end of my first journal. I will probably be mailing it sometime this month. I write every day. I'm exhausted and cannot speak for the quality of the contents, but I write every day... I just love you family.

Other Excerpts:

Missionaries are so annoying. I sincerely apologize. We are clueless,
we are obsessed with ourselves, and we feel we are entitled to the
fascination of everyone we have ever met. I am guilty. I apologize. I
don't mean to come across as self-obsessed or preachy or
self-righteous or self-anything in these letters. I know that I do
anyway. Sigh.

Well it was a fun week. Is it weird that I think of myself as in a
romantic relationship with Jesus? It helps me for some reason. But I
mean I kind of am! We love each other, the relationship is extremely
exclusive, and it makes love songs make sense. There's this one song
called "I'd give it all for you" from the musical "Songs for a New
World" that especially makes me think of Him. Anyway, enough
weirdness.

My favorite thing to do on Pday is shop. I love to shop. Oh wow I just
had a huge manic event thinking about shopping. Hang on I need a
breath. It's a beautiful day in Florida. Perfect temperature, a breath
of wind, sunshine... Okay I'm back. I love to shop. We get about
$30-35 a week to take care of all our physical needs. Toiletries,
detergent, food, drinks, cleaning stuff, clothes, etc. I spend most of
it on fruit that I immediately eat (today I ate most of it on the way
home from Wal Mart). But I like the endless possibilities and
stimulation of the thousands of different combinations or ingredients
or things we could buy. I bought pickled eggs and nutmeg and snuck a
passing glance at the video games section (I know, I am such a
sinner). I also like to sit in the quiet and play a little word game
with scrabble tiles I have called Take 2. I don't get the chance to do
that often though. And of course I like emails. We are allowed to
shop, email, clean, and engage in safe and appropriate recreational
activities. So basically basketball, tennis, and whatever randomness
we can think of in the hour or two we have to do them. It's kind of
like when a group of friends gets together and goes, "Well, let's do
SOMETHING!"

Side note for mama, do you know there are brand new versions of red
alert that you can buy and play on the xBox??? So cool. It was like my
childhood washed over me when I found that out. We will play one day.

The milk challenge (1 gallon of milk in a day) is a breeze. I drank
half a gallon in 20 minutes the other day without batting an eye.
Well, it was soy milk. Maybe that made a difference. Hehehe I have the
most terrible farmers tan. I guess it's a missionary tan. I have some
obsessive self-destructive tendencies. Because of the structure of
missionary life, the only way it can really manifest itself is in
gluttony. I'm not supposed to eat sugars, dairy, meats (except poultry
or fish) or gluten because they make me pretty sick. But I do. But I'm
working on it! My fast this month was for a resolution to my
self-loathing and the self-destructive behaviors, particularly
gluttony, which it feeds. Fasting always does the trick. Maybe because
it's such a big sacrifice to give up food, which I so desperately
love. Perhaps I will be a chef. I could legitimately see that
happening. We have LOTS of Jams. Well, we did. I ate them. I mixed
them with dry oats and a little milk and some cinnamon. You ever had
homemade jams made with homegrown fruit with oats and spices and just
a hint of milk? Wow. I ate four days worth of food in like two hours.
Amazing. Big fan of sweeteners. You should see the amount of honey I
dump on stuff. And nutmeg! I bought nutmeg today. I am so excited. My
whole week is going to taste like Christmas.

I DID have some misadventures in food this week, now that you mention
it. Some very expired deli meats and cheese took me out for a morning.
Some rotten cabbage had me under the wether for an afternoon. And the
free expired turkey salami that was donated to us by a food donation
place in town just about killed me. But the pickled eggs from Wal Mart
weren't that bad! Probably wouldn't buy them again. I really want one
of those Zero candy bars but I know I'd be sick all week. If you see
one eat it and tell me how it tastes. I get my protein and iron from
beans. Soooooooooooooooo many beans. That's enough about food.
Obviously I'm a little hungry right now. Really it's my soul that's
hungry. See if you can find the part in the Book of Mormon where it
says "my soul hungered".

So! Squirrel hunting. We used slingshots. Well, the other elders used
slingshots. I fantasizes about being a gladiator and riding my
golf-cart chariot around like a BOSS. Um, Sherlock is my favorite show
of all time. I sincerely do not even know how many times I watched the
first two seasons. The third season has come out since I left, yes? My
hands are literally shaking with anticipation. I like to go on walks.
One of my dream days is to get a laptop and a pile of movies and just
walk. Walk to wherever. Then stop and watch as much of whatever you
want as you want. Then, whenever the fancy takes you, pack it up and
walk some more. In my brain, I refer to it as the mobile movie
marathon. I'm thinking about having it copyrighted.

Emma Watson is fantastic but I did not see Perks of Being a
Wallflower. What are the perks? Is one of them you get to hang out
with Emma Watson? That would be a pretty good perk. I know how it is
to have no time. Busy busy BUSY! Try one page of Book of Mormon
reading a day. It will take a long time to read it and that's okay. It
isn't a novel, it's a feast. It's okay to consume it slowly, to savor
every bite. It took a thousand years for the most brilliant members of
the most advanced civilization on the planet to write it, it's okay if
it takes you a year or two to absorb it. Don't judge yourself and say
oh I should read more! I'm not going to only read a page I need to get
it all done! I'm better than this! And then you find yourself two
months down the road not having read anything. Just a page a day.
That's my unsolicited advice. I only give it because I spent half my
life wishing someone had given it to me. I didn't know I could go a
bit at a time. I didn't know I could just do as much as I could and
that was good enough for the only one who mattered. But you're a lot
wiser than I ever was, so you probably didn't need any of that. And
again, sorry for the food metaphors. I seriously need a meal.

This area has been fabulous to me. I am enjoying it immensely. I am so
happy. You are fantastic. Thanks for writing to me. I repeat the
apology with which I began.

What's the best part of your life? Who are your friends?  What is the
most significant growth you have experienced in the last year? What
were your New Years resolutions? What is your favorite spice? What is
something that brings you enormous peace and closer to God completely
unexpectedly? For me it's games. Board games, computer games, anything
that fully engages my mind but is absolutely silent and allows my body
to be absolutely still. Do you know any riddles? I would love a riddle
or two to puzzle over. I have a lot of free mind time. What's your
favorite book? Now what is your ACTUALLY favorite book? The one you
secretly love and would read a million times but don't admit is your
favorite because you feel it is not classy enough. Maybe you don't do
that. Maybe pride is not so laughably, obviously systemic in you as it
is in me.

Oh also, you are great. Are you playing sports? Have there been any
particularly comical disasters in your life recently? I like those.
I'm craving some Mario Kart. And a snack.

This is the week. The best one you've ever had, and the worst one of
the rest of your life.

Exciting.

So yeah I tailored it a bit but I was thinking of you, family, the
whole time I wrote it so it was pretty much copy and paste. I
particularly want some riddles. I love you. Thanks for being patient
with my odd writing system. Thanks for being my family.

*******

More Excerpts to Mom:

What a fantastic letter!! The temptation to respond would be excruciating throughout the week so I am going to do my best to do it right now during dinner before Pday ends. The letters are reminiscent of our talks for me as well!! I love them. I am so glad you enjoyed his week's addition! Thank you so much for your kind words. There were a billion stories this week. So,sties elder Collett and I will stay up for an hour at night just laying there recalling ridiculous stories from the day and laughing uproariously.

Any happiness we obtain in the world comes from our following, perhaps unwittingly, the doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of Christ is there hidden in the folds of a devoutly Muslim wedding, or an atheist's birthday party, or a band concert or a child's summer afternoon. Somehow faith or Hope or charity, a Christlike attribute or obedience to an unenunciated and yet instinctively understood commandment are present in EVERYTHING that brings a smile or a laugh or a peace. He is the good, and there is no other source. He is not a topping we add to our happiness we find elsewhere, as I had thought unknowingly before. He is the source, and the purpose. The beginning and the end. A clearer understanding of this principle has brought ,e such focus and peace. And I hope yet clearer understanding awaits me tomorrow and today.

Uh oh I hope I didn't make it sound like I'm thinking only people who believe in Christ or the church are anything but filthy!! No no no! Only that that's what life would be like, hypothetically. But it isn't! Not for anyone! It's beautiful and incredible every moment. Rarely do I see and experience it that way, but that's because my eyes and my senses are not yet pure. If they were, if I could see the world as it truly is, the glory would blind me! Hehehe, irony.

Anyway, to sum up, all I meant was Jesus is great and He is what makes everyone happy, whether they know it or not. And it's that spark of His within them that makes them invaluable, whether they feel that way or not. The end.

I bore mine too!! I wish I could have heard yours. I love your testimony. I am so lucky to have a mother who bears it. Whoa, I have never thought about Eve that way!!! That blew my mind!!!!! I need to see this play! I am glad you are all safe from the rain. I am thankful for your kind words. I struggle to think of my life as anything but a train wreck. Hearing you describe it as moving towards some beautiful thing is deeply comforting. It's beautiful. Thank you.

I am sincerely jealous of your dried apples. We eat like KINGS in our home I had no idea!! Well I love beans and rice now. Love them three meals a day sometimes. I'm chunking up here in Starke! Gotta fix that. It sounds like Daddy was the knight in shining armor he ALWAYS is. What a fantastic man. Wow. What a man.

Family is special. Family is different. I heard the new new temple movies are amazing and I am so JEALOUS! Even more jealous than of dried fruit!!!! I get to go to the temple at my year mark. That is a very, very long way away...

Oat groats sound amazing. I feel your pain, beans take more than three hours to prepare. I have to really plan it out. WOW I had no idea Stacy's recovery was so complete!!!!!! WOW! That is fantastic!!!!! Goodness it takes my breath away. Goodness I love that woman. And that family. I am so glad you are keeping close.

Oh that piano. I miss it. I even miss the endlessly repeated songs. After being home for two days I will cease missing it, but for now I do. Maybe I will buy really nice earplugs on the flight back and go on missing it forever. Hehehehe I brag about the little musical prodigies to the members sometimes. They say my face lights up when I talk about them. Missoula and voice lessons and submitting videos!!!! So many fun things! Thank you for helping me be a part of them. Thank you so much.

Have fun reading. Have fun in the warmth. It is getting pretty hot here which is good because I have been freezing cold for three months!! But it's baking now and I'm sure I will long for the chills soon enough. Starke is one giant speed trap but I do not drive so I am safe. But yes, never drive here. A package??? Cassidy sent me a cars that said I was her hero. I keep it close and tear up ever time I read it. My heart is all a flutter even thinking of it.

A package. Hmmmm. There's really nothing I need. If you want to send me things, I will love and cherish them just because they are from the people I love and cherish most! You could send me rocks and I would snuggle them with a smile.

I'm going to work now. We're going to work very, very hard. I'm a bit nervous. But it's a delicious nervous. I'm a bit homesick. But it's a sweet feeling. Keep a spot in your hearts and prayers for me. I just love you so much. I'm going to make our brothers and sisters homes as wondrous and beautiful as ours. I'm going to work for Father, but I'll be back soon, much too soon, and I'll let you know how it's going.

For a while I'm far away. I've never felt so near. And love for you today, will drive out any fear.

Thank you,

-Elder Jorgensen