Elder Bronson Cox Jorgensen

We finally got an ami to come to Church!!! Macilene showed up this week for the last 45 minutes of sacrament meeting with her boys. Mbuta is continuing to progress and get excited about his baptism. Béatrice dropped us completely unexpectedly (on her front porch, in the rain, while we had a member with us...), and that was really rough. We had exchanges this week with our district leader and his companion they're super cool missionaries! That's about all that happened. Sorry for the shortness :)

Love you!

Elder Jorgensen

Week 21 --- My brain is dead........... drool.......

I have never had a week this exhausting. Elder Smith and I have been working like crazy, and there have also been some weird/frustrating moments to make it even more tiring. Nevertheless, it's the most rewarding work I'll ever do. So this week I will speak of three "amis" in particular and one crazy person.

Ami #1 Béatrice

We met Beatrice porting and she was super excited to talk with us! She has a ton of faith, and is willing to listen to our message and then she asks great questions! We're teaching her tonight with a member in the ward and it's going to be super cool!

Ami #2 Emine

So we taught Emine and her two kids Clara (14) Nicholas (11) about God and Prayer. It was such a funny time because we were stumbling over our French and Clara can understand English but can't speak. It was just a fun rendezvous, plus they said we could come teach them more.

Ami #3 Mbuta

Mbuta is an old ami from a couple years ago that is friends with a member of the ward. This week we were able to set a baptismal date for the 22nd of March! That's amazing because he hasn't progressed at all with any of the other missionaries here. Unfortunately the law of chastity is a problem... During one rendezvous a woman walked out of his bedroom in just a towel...talk about awkward!!!

Crazy Person Daniel

We called Daniel while going through potentials in our phone and he was super excited to talk about God with us. So, we went over there and he read for like 5 minutes out of some weird Armenian bible and then told us about all of his problems. He smokes cigarettes and pot, drinks, does cocaine and heroin occasionally and has a masturbation problem. Also, he has a virgin fiancée in Armenia who he can't marry because of his psychiatric problems. It's safe to say.... we are going to go see him this week! He really has a desire to change his life and he has a ton of faith, and he is one of the nicest guys ever.

One last thing, this last week I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting. I had enough notes to give me 2 minutes of talking time... I took almost 15 minutes. The spirit seriously helped me out and I was able to give a great talk (according to the members) on "our eternal families."

Love you all!

Elder Jorgensen

Week 20 - Bye Bye Bleu!

So this week was my first as a regular missionary. I'm no longer a "bleu". Also, first week with a new companion. Elder Smith is from Highland, Utah, and he's in his 5th transfer. We're getting along really well. The first couple days were a little awkward, just getting to know each other as well as learning the teaching styles of one another, but now things are going great. We have also been seeing a bunch of success already. In the four days we've had to work together we taught 7 lessons and found two new investigators. In contrast the last full week with Elder Godfrey we taught 5 lessons and we hadn't gotten a new investigator in weeks.

A little suivi on Macilene. We were able to teach her again, and she's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to come to church which is really tough, but we're hoping something will change so she can come.

Cool little miracle moment for you all... Couple of weeks ago Elder Godfrey and I got a passback from a super kind lady in her 40's. We weren't able to get see her until this Friday. When we did, we taught her about prayer and she said she believed in some higher being because all of the amazing creations around us, but didn't really have a name for it. So we explained a little bit about the nature of God. When we asked to come back and explain more of our message, she said that she wanted her boys (14 and 11 years old) to be there too because she wanted them to have some sort of religious education. It was super cool and we'll be seeing them this week!

Spiritual thought of the week: Every member of the church needs a testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith. Read the talk by Elder Anderson from this last conference, and follow his counsel in finding your own testimony. I bear you my witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that through him all of the necessary keys of the priesthood have been restored. He was an honorable man who, "has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it." (D&C 135)

Love you all,

Elder Jorgensen

Week 19 --- Do I stay or do I go . . . ?

So transfers are this week and.... I'm staying in La Rochelle! Elder Godfrey is going up to Lille (North of France right by Belgium) and I'm going to Paris to pick up my new companion, Elder Smith.

This week has been really rough and rewarding at the same time. We only taught five lessons. One of the worst weeks I've had as far as numbers go, but there was one lesson in particular that was super cool. Story time...

So the very first week I was here we taught a super cool lady named Macilene. She's from Brazil, but has been living here in France for 15 years. She has three young kids and a strong belief in God. She recognizes the need for her kid's to know God, so she enrolled them in a Catholic school even though she isn't practicing at all. Anyway, we hadn't been able to see her until this last week. We taught the Restoration and she totally accepted it and she had already read a little bit in the Book of Mormon. We extended a soft baptismal invite and she said, "I've already been baptized Catholic." Usually when someone says this the next thing they say is that they don't need to be baptized again, but she said, "Would that be a problem for me to be baptized in your church?" Obviously we told her there wasn't any problem, and she seemed really excited.

A little update on the French, I still think I'm pretty lost, but I've received many compliments from members and other missionaries, so apparently I'm not too bad :) haha

I have to go, but I'll leave you with a President Uchtdorf quote, "No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it"

Je vous aime tous!!

Elder Jorgensen

Week 18 - Glory in the work of the Lord (the good, the bad, and the awkward of it)

Well this week has...happened...

So overall it's been kind of disappointing when you look at the numbers we had this week, but you can always find the good things in the midst of trials.

A little suivi (follow up) for you. The rendez-vous that we had with Anselem didn't go through and we have lost contact with him again unfortunately. We had to decide to let him go (for now) and focus on more solid people. We had a rendez-vous with Elsa this week that she didn't show up for, and we were pretty worried. Luckily, we got in touch with her later, and she was obligated to go out of town for work very quickly, but she'll be back in about two weeks. Also, the Fitt's aren't moving! After looking into all the logistics of moving them and getting us a car in La Rochelle, as well as considering the fact that they only have a couple more months left on their mission, President Babin decided it wasn't the right thing to do.

Cool story for you. We were out knocking doors one night and it was FREEZING!!! We weren't having any success and we had about 15 minutes before we needed to head home. But we decided to knock on just a couple more houses before we started back. The first one that answered was a lady about 45ish with two teenage boys. We asked if we could pray with her and she said no with some excuses (the house was a mess, not really interested in religion, don't have a lot of time). But she was still super nice to us. Then she asked us if we were cold, and we just looked at each other then said, "Ya..." so she invited us in to warm up and have some juice. We just started talking to her about who we are, her life a little bit (she spent some time in Florida and really likes the U.S.), and just had a conversation for like 10 minutes. Then we asked her again if before we left we could leave her with a prayer, and since we were already in there she said sure. So we prayed for her, her sons, and her home. Afterward she just looked so happy almost on the point of tears. (She had gone through a divorce recently, moved, was working a ton, and trying to do everything for her sons by herself). We weren't sure if she felt something like an impression, or if she was just super glad to hear somebody pray for her, but she was happy. Then when we were leaving she said, "You come back anytime you want to talk, warm up again, etc." It was a great way to end what had been a pretty rough day.

Now for the awkward part. This stuff happened to Elder Godfrey this week, so I will just copy his account of it...

"soooo here comes the awkward story of the week. So it was Thursday night and we were coming home from knocking on some doors. We were in the bus and I was sitting there minding my own business and just kinda looking around. Behind me and to the right of me was a young girl of about 18 or 19 years old. I was kinda just thinking and looking around and I glanced at her once and didn't really think anything of it. Then to my astonishment she gets up and I thought she was just getting off of the bus but then she sat down behind me and shocked me saying "you have a funny way of looking at people" being shocked and not knowing what to say blurted out the first thing that came to my mind "maybe" not being used to a young cute girl (that smelt really good) hitting on me. So being my awkward self i just kinda shrugged it off but then she said "I find it funny it's nothing bad" at this moment I was just praying that I could get off the bus because I did not know what to say or do. I think it was the most awkward moment of my life. Needless to say dating after the mission might be a struggle."

While this was happening I was sitting one seat in front of him just laughing. It was too good!

Then two days later, we were out knocking on doors in the afternoon. Right next to the neighborhood was a big field. We ducked behind some trees at the edge of the field to...relieve ourselves... before we began working. We then went to work after knocking on two doors a car pulls up next to where we were and a man walks up to us and says " I'm a member of the gendarmerie (national police sort of deal). What were you doing back in that field?" Apparently two guys dressed in black jackets sneaking into fields is suspicious... We just felt so awkward, and Elder Godfrey said, "J'ai fait du peepee..." (I went pee) in just about the most embarrassed and confused tone I've ever heard. Then the guy started ranting about something while he walked back to his car.

We are an awkward couple missionaries...

I'm going to end with a spiritual thought courtesy of President Babin. " 'Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.' (Gordon B. Hinckley) It is interesting to note that the prophet says 'cultivate an attitude of happiness', as Néphi says in 2 Nephi 5:27 : And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness. Happiness is not a gift it is the result of our will to be happy."

I promise you we can be happy as disciples of Christ if we follow the direction we receive from the scriptures, modern prophets, and the Holy Ghost.

Love you all,

Elder Jorgensen

Week 17 ---- Not much to say...Not much time...

Thanks for all the emails, cards, letters I have gotten. I really appreciate it!

This week we were able to teach Elsa the Plan of Salvation and again just an awesome lesson. She is going to be baptized. It may take some time for her to figure out the faith part of all of this and to feel that she has received an answer, but she's going to get there.

Last Monday we went to Saintes. Too cool! (Pictures to follow) Tuesday we were in Paris all day doing my legality...not cool... I had to undress twice, pee in a cup, stand around for like 5 hours in between all of the tests, paperwork, and other stuff. All of that was after getting up at 5 am to catch a train. Then we didn't get home until like 9:40.... not cool...

Sorry this email is so short, but TONS to do, lots of emails to write, etc., etc. ( Missionary life ;) )

Love you all

Elder Jorgensen