Week 13 - "BEST WEEK EVER!"

"BEST WEEK EVER!"

FIRST and foremost:

 I had my FIRST BAPTISM! It finally happened! Amanda was baptized yesterday June 23rd, 2013!!!! It was the most incredible thing! To be able to be apart of that change in her life and to see how much she has grown is just incredible. I look up to her so much. Amanda really is such a special woman and with a testimony that strikes your heart. It has been an honor and a blessing to be able to share with her this truth and light. We had wonderful talks and we had so many people from our ward show up to support her! There were probably over 50 people there! THAT is the kind of ward support I am talking about! That's how every ward should be. Sister Nordhagen and I shared a great missionary moment as well. It was so inspired and even I felt uplifted by it afterwards. 

Okay ya'll, you will never guess what I did at the baptism... I faced my fear and Sister Nordhagen and I SANG. Yes I did it. I sang in front of people. We sang Lead Kindly Light. I cant believe it either. I haven't seriously for real sang in front of anyone since like primary days. But Sister Nordhagen is an incredible singer and has been working with me the past couple weeks on getting comfortable with my own voice and learning how to sing. It was a goal I was working on as well. I still can't believe it, but it was a first step and we were actually REALLY good. I was surprised with myself, but it just shows the Lord can help us through ANY fear we have.  

Okay and THEN there was that incredible missionary broadcast last night!!! I hope you all watched that as it truly was a historical moment. If you missed it, please go online and watch it. It is worth ever second. We have Apostles and Prophets for a reason, to lead and guide us. What good does it to if we teach and say to follow them and then don't listen to them when they ask us to? The broadcast, though focused on missionaries, was for ALL members of the church. So go, do, and be uplifted and edified as I was. We need to ALL share this Gospel, not just us missionaries. The Lord gives us strength if we have faith. Pray for the faith and IF you ACT then you WILL receive that strength to act. 

So Last P-Day we had night P-day which was so fun! We didn't hike the Holly Wood sign as planned but did a different hike instead that was still great. I LOVED being outside and in the fresh air! (as fresh as LA air can be) So great start to the week that's for sure!  

But really so much has happened this week I don't even know where to start! It was challenging is a lot of ways as well. But its those challenges that make us stronger! I got sick this week which was awful! It started Friday morning with just a stomach ache and so I thought I was fine. Then by 3pm I thought I was going to die. Not literally but just because my stomach hurt so bad I could hardly move. I felt so nauseous it was terrible! I felt fine.. except for that pain and nauseousness. So against my wishes, Elder Shakespear sent me home. Sister Nordhagen took great care of me though. The next day I was determined to be "great" even if I felt terrible. So I did. Despite being sick, Saturday morning I put on a smile and we lead a group of primary that called in as 20, changed to 40-60 and ended up being 200 of them all together. It was so incredible! AND it was all in SPANISH! He aprendido espanol. :) Yeah it was cool. In high school Senora said I would never learn spanish, well she was wrong. Obviously she didn't know the power of the Spirit. Truly though it was all inspired and incredible, yes i of course used English as well but it was so cool! 

Today P-Day at Diddy Riese

That was the 2nd time this week that has happened! We were contacting earlier this week and met a man who only really spoke Spanish and understood little english and Sister Nordhagen is called Spanish speaking so she started talking to him and teaching him and as she did I felt more and more impressed by the Spirit to bear my testimony to him and as it became stronger I was able to understand more and more of their conversation and then I bore my testimony to him mostly in English with a little spanish but he could understand me perfectly and was just in shock, not because he understood me, but because of the power of my testimony. Needless to say he wanted the spanish missionaries sent to him and his family and thanked me so much for my words. 

I know that what I am helping people learn is true, I know that it is this church, this Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the Lords church restored to the Earth today. I have witnessed miracles and been apart of so many of them. 

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Petersen

jordyn.petersen@myldsmail.net

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen 

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801 

Week 12 - This Week was "Totes"

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY!

ALOOOHAAAAA!!!!

So this week was "totes" (just for you Keila) awesome! Probably because it didn't start off to great and THEN got awesome. So last P-day we got in a car accident. Just a little paint on paint side action so no big deal but non the less it was no fun. And no I was not driving. But its all good!

Then I don't know it just wasn't working for me this week. BUT it turned around real quick! :)

Especially this weekend! This weekend was great! Saturday we went out to eat with one of our investigators that has been way standoffish with the missionaries for a while but comes to church every week and loves it so we've been establishing a friendship and its paid off cause even though she hasn't met with us she is progressing so much and then taking us out for lunch was a HUGE step for her. And she took us to this buffet place and lets just say it was no "home town buffet" it was way nice and sooo good! Tutu, you would have LOVED it! I am definitely taking you there post-mission! Then we had an awesome lesson and had great tours that night!

Then yesterday we had great lessons and an awesome church service. All the talks were on Fathers (for obvious reasons) and it made me really happy because Dad, you are awesome and it made me think of you. I kept remembering special moments with my dad growing up that helped me so much! Whether it be our movie "daddy daughter dates" or random talks in the car, and how I used to cry if you left the house in the morning without waking me up to give me a hug and kiss bye, they are the special memories of my childhood that mean so much to me. So thank you daddy. I love you!

Then Patrick and David twins that I worked at the PCC with at BYU Hawaii came in to the Visitor's Center yesterday afternoon with some friends while they were in town. So that was just a really cool thing. They didn't even know I was on a mission so it was funny and great to take them all on a little tour. 

Last night was great we had some cool tours and then Cindy came in! Cindy is a woman we met just over a week ago in the VC and she is a member but she is SO COOL! She's the screenwriter and I was praying she would come in and let us know how her scripts were coming and she came in and miracles have happened! Like no way that could happen in HollyWood without the spirit miracles! So AWESOME! 

OH! AND  Pres Uchdorff was here this weekend. I was in my area instead of at the VC though so I missed him :( But I taught a bomb lesson so it was worth it! :)

I am having fun. Spreading the gospel is the best! Try it sometime! ;) 

This Gospel of Jesus Christ is True and brings me more joy and peace than anything in the world. It's incredible. 

Love ya'll!

Love,

Sister Petersen 

jordyn.petersen@myldsmail.net

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen 

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801

Week 11 - Holly Spirit is Awesome!

Hey ya'll! 

So guess what! We have another awesome investigator! She is so sweet! She came to church on Sunday and could only stay for Sacrament and Gospel Principals but it was still such a blessing to have her there and she said she had some big questions answered so it was incredible!

AND Amazing Amanda was at church this Sunday as well! For ALL THREE hours! She enjoyed it and I cant even tell you how inspiring she is. She just gets it! Things that take members years to apply to their lives shes already doing and seeing the change. She is truly a prayer being answered for so many people! I am so grateful for her! 

So one thing when sharing the gospel is that you HAVE to have the spirit with you. Obviously, and we get so almost "used" to it as missionaries but it really does protects us. Like a while ago we were going to visit a potentials house and it was night but not dark yet and we walked in to the apartment building (which was kinda sketch anyways at this time of day) and as soon as we got in a little ways we both had this super strong feeling to leave. Its like I heard someone say "leave now!" But a whisper inside. We don't know why we were supposed to leave, we just know that nothing good would have happened if we had stayed. So moral of the story. BE WORTHY OF THE COMPANIONSHIP OF THE HOLY GHOST AT ALL TIMES! 

I love all of you and the letters and emails you send and write! thank you so much!

Love,

Sister Petersen 

jordyn.petersen@myldsmail.net

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen 

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801

Week 10 - THANK YOU ALL! (hint*hint* I love cards/letters people*)

Best Morning Ever!

Is it weird to anyone else that it is only week 10? Some days I feel as if I have been here forever, yet other days its like I just got here. 

FIRST of all I was able to open my package from home today! (the rest of the way) THANK YOU ALL!!!! I was able to open it to get the cookies out this past Thursday but had to wait till today to read the letters and see what else was in it. 

DADDY YOU MAKE THE BEST COOKIES EVER!!!!!!

Thank you for the notes and card, it was very special to me! 

(hint* hint* i love cards/letters people*) 

This week has been the longest week everrrrr. I'm not really sure why, but it just kept going and going and going and going and going and well you get the picture. Probably just because our p-day wasn't on Monday. So it was a longer "week" in that sense. 

Our P-day was changed to today (Wednesday) because today was a special Temple P-day! Which made it sooo worth having a longer week. The Los Angeles temple is BEAUTIFUL! Like I cant even describe it...! BEST MORNING EVER! (sound familiar ;) ) It was really special and everyone should have the opportunity to go sometime, or make the time to go. I love the temple so much and it truly is such a  blessing to have the knowledge of the importance of temples in my life. I am so grateful to know my family can be together for eternity and that everyone can have that opportunity no matter when or where they have lived. I received a lot of inspiration today and I am very grateful for the opportunity I was able to have. 

One thing that was SO just incredible was as we were about to leave the temple I kept looking at this Polynesian looking lady because she looked so familiar. She came over to say hi before we left and it turns out she is a Keanini! Yes, a Molokai Keanini! What are the chances of meeting some distant Auntie as I'm leaving the temple. None. Heavenly Father's plan is so special. Especially how he puts people in our paths. I gave her my email so hopefully she will write me with how everyone is all connected. If someone could email or send me our family tree of our cousins and aunties and uncles and how it all goes back I would love to have a copy of it so I can tell her. I would REALLY appreciate it. 

Then after that we were able to talk to an amazing woman (Cindy) here in the visitors center for like EVER and she is the coolest person EVER! just saying. She's going to be famous and I'll be able to be like "I know her!" type of thing.

So to try to "quickly" sum up this week here we go:

-Sister Nordhagen and I are still together through transfers and still in our same area

- Amazing Amanda is the sweetest person I have ever met and is just such an inspiration to me in    

  SO many ways! LOVE HER!

     -her baptismal date is June 23rd. :) 

-miracles every day! two Egyptian ladies stopped US and asked if we could come teach them,   

 ummm I think YES!

-we were able to contact a referal we've been trying since I got here.\

-A teenage boy I contacted in the Teaching Center accepted to have me to continue to teach him and 

 accepted the Book of Mormon. 

-we have so many investigators and potentials we cant even meet with them all because of our time 

 in the Visitors Center and in our area being split. (BEST problem a missionary could ask for)

-we get new a new mission President this month :) :( I Love President and Sister Baker. 

-Temple today

LOVE YALL!

Sister Petersen

jordyn.petersen@myldsmail.net

Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen 

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 E. Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801