''I "Will Make an Instrument of Thee in My Hands''

Today is a good day. It is just one of those days you have as a missionary where you are simply happy. The Lord has blessed me a lot on my mission and I have a lot to be grateful for.

Our investigators are finally starting to show some real progress. Most if not all of our progressing investigators have the same concern about already been baptized and they don't quite yet understand the importance of the Priesthood. The good news is they are all doing really well at gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that if they can recognize their answer to whether or not the Book of Mormon is true, then these concerns will dissolve and they will come to understand how important it is to be baptized by the proper authority.

I am really excited about one of the lessons we taught this past week to our investigator Wei Fan. If you could not tell by the name, Wei Fan is Chinese. A lesson we had with him two lessons ago did not end so well. For some reason, all he wanted to do was challenge everything we said and I could tell that the Spirit was not there. Wei Fan has a heavy northern China accent and it is hard for me to understand him at times as it is but I have noticed that when the Spirit is absent, I am on my own to understand what he is saying and I have a hard time thinking of what to say to him in Chinese. This past lesson was exactly the opposite. The Spirit was quite powerful and I had the ability back to understand him more and speak the thoughts that the Lord put in my mind. I offered the opening prayer and asked for Heavenly Father to help him understand the lesson and I know that He answered my prayer. We read in Alma 32 about faith and by the end of the lesson Wei Fan made a comment about how a particular verse of scripture was easy to understand. I bore testimony to Wei Fan that Heavenly Father will answer his prayers, a concept he struggles to understand because he is not sure what his answer will feel like. He hasn't been praying so we invited him to pray every night. In connection to what we read in Alma 32, we also told him prayer was the first step to faith. Wei Fan gave the closing prayer and after we all said Amen he looked close to tears. I asked him how he felt and he told us the prayer was meaningful to him. This lesson was powerful and meaningful because of the Lord's help and His Spirit

This past week I went on exchange with Sister Riley in Rhyl. Sadly, I was sick over exchange but we saw miracles nonetheless. Our first night on exchange we went street contacting for an hour and met this man named Phil. We had a wonderful conversation with this man and found out he had been searching for a fresh start. We bore testimony on the power of the gospel to change our lives and give us a fresh start, even everyday if we needed. He became a new investigator but the next day when we went to teach him, he told us over the phone he had ''heard some things'' about the church that he didn't agree with and asked us to delete his contact info. So sad! He has so much potential! Opposition can be the worst. We also met this young man that lives down the street from a member in their ward. He is interested in learning about the gospel and he lives in the perfect location for the Sisters to get him well fellowshipped. The Sister that lives a few houses down is really excited to go meet him and said she will take the initiative to talk to him and introduce herself.

Funny Exchange Moment:
We were at a bus stop talking to this teenage boy when he looked at our name tags a then asked ''Do you work for Jesus?'' Haha. More or less..

I went back to Manchester this week for a mission activity day we had. On the train ride over I taught this man on the train named John. John has seen us around town trying to stop people and he told me how he has seen people don't stop perhaps because they are too busy to stop. This comment he made reminded me how important it is to always be a good representative because you never know who is watching you and what they observe. It is so important never to let our guard down. Anyway, John wasn't too keen on meeting with us so we could share more but I will say this was one of the best lessons on the train I have ever taught. Before I got off the train John told me I left him with more questions than answers. I pointed to the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and promised him that he can start find answers to his questions in that pamphlet and on our church website. I am sure I will see him around in Wrexham.

This past week was not the easiest for Sister Lee and I; our investigators did not come to church, we faced rejection and were mocked by a few atheists, and we are struggling to find sincere new investigators. The Lord was at my rescue this week in my personal study and I stumbled upon Alma 17:1: ''And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.'' I know this to be true. I know that if I continue to be patient in my trials and afflictions as a missionary that by my example the Lord will be able to bring many souls back unto Him. The Lord is always able to make the negatives of our lives into positives. When we face trials and things are hard, we have His assurance that things will get better. They have for me and that is why today I feel at peace.

Family and friends, we are instruments in the Lord's hands. May we all allow him to work through us to accomplish His work.

Love you all!
Sister Jordan