Week 5 - I Survived My First California Earthquake!

April 29, 2013 7:27:55 PM CDT

Hi Everyone!     (I'M ONE MONTH IN!)

 I SURVIVED MY FIRST CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE!!!!!

It was actually last night while we were teaching an inactive couple, and I read a scripture and then BAM! EARTHQUAKE!  It was funny because it was mine and my companions first earthquake and Brother A. was like "wow, you teach really powerfully for being so new! You're words shook the Earth!" But it was only a smaller earthquake but still cool/freaky. They are an amazing family and are so ready to come back to church! Its not that they meant to go inactive or dont agree with any of the teachings they just got busy with life over the years and didnt make time for church anymore. Please pray for them, they are so ready!  I love all our families in our ward and our investigators, they are so incredible!

So this week has been incredible in so many different ways! I can't even begin to tell you all of the miracles I see on a daily basis! Everything is truly inspired by our Heavenly Father. I love being in the Visitor's Center and in my Area. They are so different yet both allow me to share the joys of the Gospel with everyone I meet. On Tuesday a Woman came into the Visitors Center right before we closed and said "I want to learn your Gospel, can you teach me?"! I was like YES! She came back the next three days for lessons and then we were able to transfer her to the missionaries in her area which happen to be our APs so we were able to get her all taken care of. AND since we taught three lessons in the VC we can stay in contact and help her along the way still as well so I'm excited about that! She is so prepared and inspired it was amazing! The Lord really does prepare everyone in different ways to hear about the Gospel, and I always heard that, but seeing it come to life is a completely new and mesmerizing  experience that I am so blessed to be a part of. There are people that truly just need me, and people that need you, so think of that the next time you walk past somebody or talk to someone. They may need you and you have no idea.

 HAHAHA Want to know the simplest way to get into someones home while trackting, knock and ask to use their restroom. Worked for me! But in my case I really did have to which made it all the better. I may have to use that reason more often if it keeps working. I'm trying to follow what Elder Scott said at the MTC "To reach a goal never before obtained, you must do things never before done." So if anyone has any random ideas to spice up proselyting let me know!!! You know I'm not shy and its the uncomfortable situation that the Lord places us in that make us stronger so give me ideas and I'll try them and let you know how they work!

Oh! and I get mail every Thursday or Friday depending on when I have District Meeting and then I open the mail on Mondays for P-day so write letters because they make my week! :) :) :)

P.S. A certain Sister Missionary's Birthday is coming up soon! MAY 22 Wink* Wink* AH! Its so weird to think about! I can't believe I've been on a mission for a month already. Crazy!

Well I love you all! Thank you for your support and your prayers!

LOVE,

Sister Petersen <3

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801

United States

24 April 2013

Dear Brother and Sister Petersen,

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen arrived safely to this mission 17 April 2013.  After prayerful consideration, Sister Amanda Anne Nordhagen was selected to be her companion.  We make every effort to assign only the very best missionaries to be trainers, as these first few months are critical in the life of a new missionary.  Enclosed are pictures of Sister Petersen with her companion, Sister Baker and me.

During the course of her mission she will be transferred from place to place, therefore, we ask that all her mail be sent to:

Sister Jordyn Keoloha Lana Petersen

1591 East Temple Way                

California Los Angeles Mission

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801

We are excited and grateful have Sister Petersen serve in the California Los Angeles Mission.  Our desire is to help her succeed and magnify her calling.  We will do everything possible to see that she remains healthy, actively engaged, challenged, and happy in her missionary labors.  Please be assured that her welfare and happiness are of primary concern to us.  

The enclosed information answers many of the questions frequently asked.  And then for up to date news and information, you and your family can visit our mission blog: calamission.blogspot.com. Should you have any questions or concerns during the course of Sister Petersen’s mission, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely yours,

Stephen R. Baker, President

California Los Angeles Mission

Weeks 3 and 4- I MADE IT TO LA!!!!! & I LOVE IT! (Updated 6/4/13 Photo)

April 22, 2013 7:20:05 PM CDT

HEY EVERYONE!!!!

I MADE IT TO LOS ANGELES!!!!! and I LOVE IT HERE!

Sorry familia, I have decided I am never leaving. So in 17 months you can just come see me. sound good? GREAT! ;)

(so I only have 1 hour to type because this mission hasn't changed yet. So I'm sorry if I don't email you all back personally this time) 

So Wednesday will be week four for me being on a mission. I cannot believe that it has been that long!

Mom, Dad, Kimo, it was SO good talking to you on Wednesday at the airport! Its has all been non-stop since I arrived! 

So now for the stuff you are all so anxious to know! I have the best training companion ever!

Her name is Sister Nordhagen and is INCREDIBLE! Since I am Visitor's Center I am in the visitors center from either 9am-3pm. or 3pm-9pm. The other time I am in my area proselyting and teaching.

I'm in the Culver City area and it is wonderful! Brother F was baptized last Sunday and was Confirmed yesterday. It was Amazing. We have quite a few investigators and they are all incredible! I've only been able to meet with a few of them so far but most of them came to church on Sunday and have appointments set up with us this week!

This entire mission and area are completely amazing and unbelievable. I have already witnessed so many miracles since I have been here. I'm connecting to the people so well, pray that they will continue to be so receptive to the Gospel!

I can not believe that I have only been here for five days, it already feels like forever but then again I feel like it has flown by! its one of the strangest feelings ever. 

So I was confused on why I had to wait until Wednesday April 17th to come to Los Angeles. Everyone else in my district and zone left Monday and Tuesday. Well now I know why, on Tuesday night after everyone in my zone had left except for my companion and I we had Tuesday night Devotional. Elder Richard G. Scott (yes the apostle) was our speaker. Now I cannot even begin to describe how incredible this man and his testimony is, I now know his talk was one of the many reasons why I was sent Wednesday instead of earlier. One thing that he said was "To reach a goal never before obtained, you must do things never before done". This is so true! I encourage everyone to set a goal and do incredible things never before done.  

Want to know why else I was sent that day? Because that way I missed all the potential P-days (Preparation Days) for last week. and the Lord knows me, and knows I could handle not having a p-day for a week, but he also knew that I would be receiving some disheartening news from my mission president last night, and well it was very quite upsetting.

And anyone that knows me well knows that when I get really sad the best way to get me happy is for me to go to the beach.

Well I'm on a mission and obviously cant go to the beach.

However, today was BEACH P-DAY! The ONE day a year when missionaries in our mission are allowed to go to the beach!

Now obviously we're not allowed to go in the water, but from 11am-2pm today I was at the beach, in the sun, and the sand, and I was happy. :)

 Now that is just one of the many ways the Lord has provided for me personally.

THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AT COINCIDENCES! They are blessings from God whether it be remembering something or just having a good day. Stop and look at the little things in life that make you happy. Heavenly Father knows us all individually. I know this. 

Alright ya'll hopefully I'll have enough time to send some pictures! But i love the work I am doing and know that this is where I am supposed to be no matter what challenges I am faced with while I am here or not here. The Lord is with us all. Get close to Him and He willl come unto you as well. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Love,

Sister Jordyn Petersen

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, California 90024-5801

United States

Week 2 -Visitor Center Training

April 12, 2013 6:38:02 PM CDT

Hey ya'll!

 Week number 2 has come and gone and now I only have 5 days left until I am in Los Angeles! It is amazing how fast these past couple weeks have flown by! I have continued to learn so much on a daily basis!

 This week was full of highs and not as highs, but not lows, its too awesome here to have any lows. So the not so highs being ALL of the Elders in our district and zone reported to their areas on Monday and Tuesday so now we are lonely sisters missing our brothers. It is amazing how much of a family you become while you are here! But its good know they are all where they need to be to serve the Lord! So onto the highs... EVERYTHING!

 We started visitors center training on Wednesday and it is going better than I could have ever hoped for! I can not wait to get to Los Angeles and share the gospel with everyone out there! We learned that only 2 out every 100 or more sisters get sent to visitors centers. And that the apostles only choose you for the Visitors Centers because they can see your testimony of the atonement in your eyes when they look at your picture. How cool is that!?! For the visitors center I will be able to reach so many more people than a regular mission! Not only do we work in the visitors center for half the day but then I prosolite the second part of the day. Along with being in the visitors center some days I will also be doing online and on the phone proselytizing through chat and email via all the church websites though mainly mormon.org! It is amazing how the spirit has no boundries and that even though I could be teaching someone in Austria the spirit connects us and they can feel it as strongly as if i was there face to face. Then i can send their local missionaries to them afterwards. Its a very neat experience! We have been practicing and training using all of our online resourses as well as practicing sharing the knowledge of our Heavenly Father with those who will be coming into the Visitors Center!

This afternoon for preparation day we went and did a session at the Provo Temple. I encourage anyone who is able, to go to the temple as often as possible! And for any who cannot go to the temple, make it a goal and reach it! I can not encourage this enough! Make time to do it! We get so caught up in our daily lives that we forget what is truly improtant, our relationship with our Heavenly Father. I am so happy for the relationship I have with my Heavenly Father and I hope everyone that reads this will humble themselves, get on their knees and pray, with faith, to strengthen your own personal relationship with your Father inHeaven as well. Because I know without a doubt that He loves us all no matter what and wants that relationship with us.

Tomorrow we go to Salt Lake to Temple Square for more training! I am so EXCITED! Well everyone I will keep you updated weekly on everything that happens! I will be reporting to Los Angeles on Wednesday (the 17th of April) so my next email will be from there!

FAMILY! I WILL BE CALLIMG YOU FROM THE AIRPORT BRIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING SO BE AWAKE AND WAITNG! :)

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS WRITTEN ME LETTERS AND DEAR ELDERS!

My new address will be:

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801

United States  

Love you ALL and thank you for all of the prayers and support!

Love,

Sister Petersen 

Week 1- The Missionary Training Center is such an incredible place!

April 3, 2013 12:51:31 PM CDT

Hey Everyone!!!!!

I MADE IT ONE WHOLE WEEK SO FAR!!!! 

Happy Belated Easter! Thank you Mom and Dad for the awesome package! I was shocked! you know me oh too well! sending me easter candy, stationary supplies and makeup myfavorite things!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!! I LOVE YOU!

The Missionary Training Center is such an incredible place!!!!

I realize that I have known nothing about the church in comparison to what I know know. My faith and knowledge is both tested and strengthened on a daily basis! Our goal is NOT to teach people, but to GUIDE them through the Holy Ghost.

The way we learn is incredible! I have learned more in this past week than I have in my entire life!

I absolutley LOVE IT HERE!
I am so blessed to have this opportunity to serve the Lord!

Not only has my testimony been increasing on a daily basis but I have truly been converted unto Christ. I hope and pray that I will be able to share this emence happiness with everyone I come to meet. The Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true.

I have the best district ever!!! District 43-B!!!!! I love them so much! we all get along incredibly and truly are a family of brothers and sisters!

Not to mention I have the BEST companion EVER! Sister Anastasia Alder is her name and she is the sweetest girl! WE get along great! Its amazing how the Lord knows who to pair us with to help strengthen each other. We're so different but its what makes us work so well together. She will be serving in the Independence Missouri Visitors Center.

Since we are visitors center sister missionaries we will be here a total of three weeks. Two weeks of regular training and then one week of visitors center training.

I fly to California on April 17th! My Preparation days are on Wednesdays (hence the letter today).

We started today off by doing a session at the temple at 6:30 this morning which in my opinion is the best way you can start a day!

So our district consists of 5 sisters and 5 elders. Two companion ships of three. Sister Petersen (ME), Sister Alder (My companion), Sister Clark, Sister Johnson, and Sister Smith (all three are serving in the Kirland Ohio Visitiors Center. Our Elders are Elder Lawniczak (LavKneeCheck) (from ALABAMA! ROLL TIDE!), Elder Reyes, Elder Cipriano, Elder Olive' and Elder Flake! All are serving in Las Vegas except Elder Flake who will be serving in Washington State. They all joke around about mine and Elder Lawniczak's southern accents but its fun. (his is worse than mine anyways lol)

So I have surprisingly seen quite a few people here that I knew before here! Most from BYU Hawaii! I have seen Elder Kevin Brown, Elder Jared Burnham, Elder Elias Endicott (skippers!), Sister Jillian Sherwood, Sister Crosby Curry, and a couple others all from BYUH! I also saw Elder Curtis who I met when I first went through the temple up in Birmingham, AL. Its been really cool to see the emence changes in everyone spiritually.

 

Week one has been a success everyone! I love it here! The first few days were amazing but they were seriously the longest days of my life! I finally understand the tem "The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days.". Everyone said that if you could make it to Sunday then you would be fine and they were so right! the past two days have flown by since Sunday!

It was so cool to be here for Easter Sunday! I wouldnt have wanted to be anywherere else (no offence family) but it was incredible! The ENTIRE MTC had a huge Sacrament meeting since it was Easter. Thats 3,000 Missionaries! I will never be able to forget that experience.
Bishop Gerald Causse of the Quarum of the Seventy presided. He's awesome just saying.







Sunday afternoon we went on a walk to the temple and took a bunch of pictures which was really nice.

Thant night we had a great devotional by sister Sheri Dew but my Favorite part of the day was after that watching elder David A. Bednar's talk the "Character of Christ." If you havent seen it then stop whatever youre doing and go watch it! Then come back and read the rest of my letter.

Okay now that I'm sure you all headed my advice and watched it you now see why it is so influential! We need to get over oursleves and start turning outward and caring for those around us! I challenge you all to make a consious effort to try to stop being so selfish and focus on serving the Lord and those around you! I'm making this effort too so we can all be in it together!  :)

So right now my companion and I are in the process of teaching two investigators. One from Arizona and another from Hawaii so please pray for us to be able to bring them closer to Christ. We got one to commit to a baptismal date on April 20th on our first visit with him, but if he is going to be ready by that date he has a couple more things he needs to work on first. I love them so much and it is amazing to be able to see the joy in their faces when they realize that they know God's love for them.

The food here is kind of iffy but is better some days than others! and they always have good fruit and salad so its all good! I love the gym time even though yesterday we were exhausted so our district took a nap instead :p All of my outfits are super cute and I ow it all to my mom, tutu, and Rachael! Y'all are the best!

OH!!!! and HEY! You all need to go to DearElder.com put in my information and send me letters! They print them out here daily and hand them out. I dont care if its just telling me about your day or keeping me updated with sports (hint hint) it would be amazing to hear from someone! :)  Also If someone could snail mail ( theres no printer) me some pictures I would love you forever because I forgot to bring any and I'd love to show off my awesome friends and family to everyone here!!!!! And I dont want to forget what everyone looks like.. ;p

Well I'm over my time but I love and miss you all! I'll send pics to my mom to put on my facebook page!

I love you all!

Love,

 Sister Petersen 

            

PS
For this week I will not have P-Day on Wednesday because that is when I start Visitors Center Training at Temple Square. My P-day will now be changed to this FRIDAY MARCH 12, 2013! I usually send my emails in the morning so try to check them early so I can respond that night. I will try to let you know earlier this week what time I will be online. I love you all and hope that everyone watched and enjoyed General Conference!!!!

Love you!

Sister Petersen