12/1/10: Jordan

Here is Jordan's letter from today. I want to thank you all for your prayers on her behalf. I know that her happiness and success are due in part to your faith.
Love,
Tom

Dear Family,

I am sitting here in the mission home emailing today! Sister Bennett has to do an online student orientation for school, so we came to the mission home to do it. President and Sister Albright are out at a meeting, so we're just alone in the mission home. It feels a little weird to be here without them but also really good to be in their home. The Spirit is so strong in the mission home. I felt it the moment I walked through the doors my first day in Virginia. All the stress and anxiety I had been feeling the past three weeks just melted away when I walked into the mission home. Anyway . . .

Wow! I just wrote December on the date for this email! Crazy! I have almost been a missionary for 4 months! Well, this week has been a good one. Thanksgiving was surprisingly a really good day. I was worried it would be really hard, but my heart just felt so full or gratitude the whole day--fitting for Thanksgiving! I felt so grateful to be a missionary here in Virginia, doing this wonderful work. I felt grateful to have a companion who makes me laugh and I get along well with (Sis. Bennett). I felt grateful to have TWO wonderful Thanksgiving dinners--one at the mission home and one with some members from the Crystal City ward. (I was so full I thought I was going to explode, but it was a really fun day.) I felt so grateful to be serving in the wonderful area with two great wards that I'm serving in. (I hope I will serve here for a long time. It's going to be very hard for me to leave.) Heavenly Father is truly blessing me in so many ways.

Sister Bennett has two weeks and two days left of her mission! It makes me so sad. Sister Bennett has been the perfect trainer and first companion for me. We have a very similar sense of humor and have just laughed our way through these past three months, which has helped me SO much. She is going to be going to school at the U--don't hold it against her, I try not to :)-- in January and would love to come and visit with you and have Sunday dinner every once in a while at our house because her family lives down in St. George. You will love her--she's hilarious. I will be sad to see Sister Bennett go, but I'm excited for you to get to meet her.

Although I'm sad to see Sis. Bennett go, I'm really excited to get to train and be companion's with Sis. Vaitai. She's from Tonga and has like 13 brothers and sisters! Wow! It will be an adventure because we're both so new to the mission. :) It's Sis. Vaitai's 1st transfer and my 3rd. Usually, your 1st comp. is your "trainer" and your second is your "breaker." But since I'm just jumping straight from my trainer to being a trainer, I'm training Sis. Vaitai and she's "breaking" me. Kind of funny. :)

We are teaching so many wonderful people right now. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful teaching pool. First of all, there's Li (from China). She's so awesome! We had to move her baptismal date back a little bit because she wants her son to be there, but we're really excited because he agreed to be there! He's going to school out in Charlottesville (spelling?), so we have to wait until he's done with finals. Li's so sweet though. She gave me this huge map because I mentioned to her that we get to teach people from all over the world, so I want to try to keep track of it by coloring in the different countries on the map. Li has a really strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and is doing so well.

We are also teaching the Chambers, and they are SO WONDERFUL! We tracted into them, and they are so very kind to us. They are also very receptive, which is rare, especially because they are in their 70s (I would guess). Usually the older people we talk to are pretty set in their ways, but the Chambers are so humble and willing to learn. They are already in 1 Nephi Ch. 19! They have been reading out loud together. Mrs. Chambers is from England and has the best accent ever. I love hearing her read the scriptures!

On Sunday, we brought a recent convert (Steve) to the mission home fireside, which was really great. A couple who just got baptized in October spoke to us. They shared their conversion story, and the spirit was so strong. They are a darling family with four children--soon to be an eternal family! I was really impressed by their story. It is amazing to witness the marvelous change the Gospel brings to people's lives.

We had an exciting experience out tracting last night. The first door we knocked on, the couple let us right in--no questions asked. It was interesting, that never happens. They have a new little baby and are the cutest family. They were very interested in the Book of Mormon and agreed to let us come back and teach them more. So we got two new investigators! Their names are Mya and Dennis, and I am really excited to get to teach them.

Overall, everything is going really well. I miss you as always, but I am happy and healthy. Heavenly Father is really blessing me and helping me to be happy--sometimes I am so overwhelmed with happiness in this great work that I feel like I'm going to burst. :) Please write me this week, and I will write you back!

Love you forever,
Jordan