Homecoming Talk

A little over 3 weeks ago I returned from serving in the UK as a full time volunteer missionary and today I have the privilege of speaking in front of all of you about my service. I was called to serve in Britain, the beautiful lands of rolling hills and lots and lots of rain, and what is called the England Manchester Mission. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the geography of the UK, my mission covered the northwest region of the two countries England and Wales.

Within the boundaries of the mission I served contains a very important history in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

1)   In the year 1837, the prophet Joseph Smith called Heber C. Kimball to lead his brethren in a foreign mission in England.  The first baptisms outside of the U.S took place in Preston. The growth of the church there went on to be what sustained the newly restored church in its early years when many of these saints left their native land to come here to America.

     2) Many leaders in the church served their missions in this land including Gordon B. Hinckley who later was called by God to be a prophet in the late 90s until he passed away in 2008

I had a unique mission because I was assigned to preach the gospel in the Mandarin Chinese language. This was a surprise to many. Who thought such a mission could exist? Indeed, being able to speak Mandarin Chinese opened up more doors to whom I could share the gospel with. Rather than being confined to a particular nation, because of where I served I taught people from all over the world. I was blessed to teach people from China, Nigeria, Portugal, India, and Bangladesh, to name a few. I taught mostly students and a few families from these different parts of the world.

I can say with a sincere heart I loved the people I taught, the people in the wards, and my companions.

With prayerful consideration, I decided to talk about some of the things I have gained on my mission, and fortunately for me, it was not weight! What I have to say today will not do it justice because I have learned things that will last a lifetime and 15-20 minutes is not an adequate amount of time to expound upon those things..

Toward the end of your mission and when you get home, the most popular question others will ask or you will ask yourself is ‘’how have you changed?’’ This has been a difficult question for me to answer. I can feel that I have become a better person but it can be hard to explain in what way. Now that I have been home for a while and have not had dress, a certain way and keep mission rules I have noticed the major changes. The one that has stood out to me is how I have been able to ‘”turn outward.”  To turn outward means that you are more concerned about others than yourself and your own circumstances. It means to be aware of others around you.

One of the most basic truths we learn in the gospel is that God is our Heavenly Father and we are all sons and daughters of God. We were all one big family before we came to earth, we are here on earth, and if we accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, our family relationships can continue beyond the grave. This is the basis of missionary work. When we put this truth into practice, it becomes natural to turn outward.

Before my mission, I had tunnel vision. When I was out and about, I was so focused on getting from point A to point B that I ignored the people I was passing.

As an Apostle has said, ‘’nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach.’’ I would not have been able to find people to teach if I remained with a tunnel perspective. I had to transform into being someone who had to look around and be aware of who I was around at all times and then take a step outside of my comfort zone and talk to them. I had to ask these people what means the most to them in their life, if they believed in God and share what I hold so near and dear to my heart, the message of the gospel.

I noticed the impact having tunnel vision has on me when I went from stopping people everyday to blocking them out again on P-days. P-day, or preparation day, is usually a Monday and is the day we as missionaries have to get groceries, email friends and family, go shopping until 6pm. It’s typically on that day that we take a step back from missionary work and stopping people like on a regular day. Mondays became the hardest day of the week and I often felt empty. For the longest time I did not understand why until we started as a mission to set goals as companionships on how we would still proselyte, or share the gospel, during our P-day. Once I began to focus on others again, I felt much happier on my P-days.

As I turned outward and stepped outside of my comfort zone, I began to grow. I began to see people for what they really were. The man sitting on the bench or the crazy lady that shouted at us was no longer a random person we spoke to but a brother or a sister, a son or daughter of God. With this truth at the forefront of my mind, it became easier to love each person I talked to and share the gospel from my heart.

As you turn outward, you will start look upon the hearts of others rather than judging them by their appearance. This is the very thing Heavenly Father does:

“For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”(1 Samuel 16: 7)

We tend to jump to conclusions when we judge people by their appearance or how they behave but we really do not know someone until you know what is in their heart. Once you get to know someone’s story, you will see the big picture that our Heavenly Father sees. Some one I taught on my mission shared with us his story. Upon meeting this man at a bus stop and within 30 minutes of talking to him he had told us how he used to be addicted to gambling but was able to turn his life around, his mom passed away from being an alcoholic, and he was going through a tough time in his life because of charges from ex-girlfriend. I was surprised someone would tell so much to a stranger he just met! That man grew and changed so much as he learned about the gospel.

There was also a time my companion and I were at a member’s home doing service and right before we were about to leave, she told us about how she had been suffering from depression. She broke down in tears and my companion and I were there to listen and comfort her. I feel so honored that that member trusted us as missionaries and shared her story with us.

I am so grateful for these two experiences because it shows how people trusted us as representatives of the Lord. People have so much going on in their lives and you will never know that by judging them from what they look like.  Everyone has an incredible story!

My mission has allowed me to develop a greater interest in everyone’s life story. As a result of my experiences of getting to know so many people on a personal level I want to continue to get to know people that same way..

My first mission president said ‘’you can change someone’s life by the way you walk past them. ‘By having an outward perspective I can notice people around me and it has given me opportunities to smile or wave at someone.

Recently I have been able to put more effort into doing kind gestures to people I have seen around town that I used to know. For instance, while in Best Buy the other day I noticed someone from my cheerleading days. I have not talked to this particular person and ages and sometimes I can be awkward about that but this time I smiled and waved.

Life becomes brighter when we choose to turn outward and welcome more people into our lives.

On the pathway to becoming an outward person, at some point we will need to build a more personal and loving relationship with God, our Heavenly Father. 

Before leaving on my mission, I remember feeling that there was a giant gap between God and myself. I would pray, but they were often rushed and lacking thought. Some days I did not even say a personal prayer at all. How I approached God through prayer slowly evolved into something much grander on my mission simply because I started to pray more frequently and more fervently.

During this process of closing the gap that had formed because of my neglect to draw closer to God in prayer I once had an investigator ask my companion and I a question that really made me think.

When I was serving in the Manchester Young Single Adult ward, we were teaching this student from Singapore. We invited her to give the closing prayer to our lesson but she struggled to understand the purpose of prayer and said “If God knows everything, why do we pray?’’ It’s a great question. Why bother with praying if God already sees everything and knows what we are going through? After much thought I came to realize that

 the answer to her question is quite simple: We are all sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who know us individually and personally. We each have a unique and special relationship with Him. He knows us but we do not know Him since we have forgotten our life before we came to this earth. It will remain that way until we speak to Him in prayer. Through prayer, we can grow and develop the relationship we already had with our Heavenly Father before we came to this world.

We are taught in Alma 34: 18-27 how to make our prayers more meaningful:

‘’Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save..

Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.

Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.

Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.

Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.

Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.

Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.

But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.’’

We can pour our souls out to our Heavenly Father in prayer. We can tell Him anything! We can tell him how we feel that day, express our gratitude, what our hopes are, our desires, our fears, ask Him for blessings and answers to our questions, etc.

Since discovering this power of prayer, I have felt closer to my Heavenly Father than I ever have. I do not just believe I am a daughter of God because that what I was taught but I KNOW I am a daughter of God and that God loves me.

I have brought home from my mission the habit of daily morning and evening prayer and I continue to feel a strong presence of God in my life.

A closer relationship with my Heavenly Father has brought about a conversion, a change of nature.

I am so thankful for my mission. It has been an MTC (missionary training center) for the rest of my life.

Testimony (English and Mandarin)

I know that this gospel is true. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Joseph Smith is not the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; he was an instrument in the hands of the Lord to restore it. I know the Book of Mormon is true and it has the power to change lives. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Banner ,Balloons, and Return Missionary....Check!!!

A Pebble Tossed Into The River

Because of this week I understand now more than ever how Heavenly Father helps us over come opposistion; When we ask for His help to work around obstacles, He will not instantly remove the problem for us. Rather He will give us the inspiration to know what to do and then we need to move forward with faith and ACT.  It would have been really easy for me to just give into the opposition and just stay in with Sister Lee this whole week but something compelled me to try and keep trying to find a way to still go out and work. There was no way I could go home with the thought that I had done nothing the last week of my mission.  It was not easy but it was possible. Now that I look back, I can see clearly the tender mercies of the Lord and how He supported both me and my companion in one of our hardest weeks.  Here is just a glimpse of what those tender mercies were:

Sunday night and Monday we made calls to people in the ward asking if could watch after Sister Lee or come out teaching with me on splits. Our plans for me to go teach an investigator with a member Monday evening fell through and we weren't able to do any proselyting after P-day had ended. Monday night things looked a bit bleak. We had planned our next day with out any certainty that any of it would happen. While Sister Lee had members willing to look after her in their home, I still had no one to be my companion. To be honest, I was so frustrated and angry that things were they way they were. I knew the only place I could turn for peace would be to Heavenly Father through prayer. That night I poured out my soul to my Father in Heaven pleading for His help and that someone in the ward would be able to come out teaching with me. I went to bed with an overwhelming feeling of peace. Something told me to take it one day at a time and that everything would work out. Tuesday morning that prayer was answered. One of the YSA we had texted the night before, Athalia, texted back saying she could come out with me! Athalia is in her first year at Uni and was free after 12pm until 5pm both days I needed someone which worked out perfectly. Suzanna, another YSA in the ward who is preparing for a mission, was also able to come teaching with me one evening. I will be forever grateful for their help as I chose to sprint to the end, obstacles and all. 

We went to the GP Tuesday morning for Sister Lee. The Doctor prescribed her antispasmodics for her stomach pains. They worked slowly, but surely. 

Tuesday was the first time Athalia had ever gone street contacting with the missionaries and she was so pro. Tuesday was a really great day and we found 2 new investigators and found a bunch of potiential investigators. The next day wasn't as easy but that is how missionary work is. Even after the change in responses from the people while we street contacted the next day she came out with me, Athalia still loved it. She told me that this experience has really changed the way she looks at missionary work and now she is thinking about going on a mission!

Thursday, Sister Lee still felt unable to go out and work and we had no one lined up to go out with me. We kept our commitment to help out at a funeral in the ward that day and then for the rest of the day we were in the flat for a while and to do weekly planning. Miraculously, we still had opportunities to share the gospel that day. At the funeral, we talked to the neighbor of the lady that passed away and shared a little bit about our beliefs. Not too long after we got in the flat, the Electrician came to install new heaters and we were able to have a really great gospel conversation with him. Before he left we handed him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and invited him to learn more. He said he was interested just really busy. No worries! The seed has been planted.

Friday Sister Lee at last looked well and was ready to go out and see how she felt being out and working. It felt so good to be back with my companion and to work hard until the end of the day. 

Jun now has a date for baptism. Oh how my joy is full! It has been a journey and a half helping her through her trial of doubt and uncertainty. We weren't sure we were going to be able to teach her this week since Sister Lee wasn't feeling so well and the only time we could see Jun were the late evenings when no one was available to go on splits with me. We came home one night around 7:30pm and called Jun and taught her a lesson over the phone. It was that night we invited her to get a Priesthood blessing to help her.  On Friday, the day Sister Lee finally well enough to go out, Jun got a Priesthood blessing from Brother Evans. The Spirit in the room after the blessing was soo strong. Jun was like ''wow..I fell so much peace!'' We had a short lesson and at the end we invited Jun to be baptized on the 20th of December. She is willing to work towards that date. I may not be able to be there physically but I will definitely be there in Spirit (or Skype if possible). 

We taught Diana again a few times this week. She is such a sweetheart! While I was on splits with Athalia, Diana told us she had read the restoration pamphlet and so we asked her if there were any questions she had and boy, did she have some deep ones! One of the questions she asked was how she could come closer to Heavenly Father like Jesus Christ. I felt prompted to teach her about following the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized.  we invited Diana to be baptized to which she replied ''she has already been baptized.'' We of course explained the importance of the Priesthood and I felt that in the next lesson we needed to teach her about the Gift of the Holy Ghost which comes after baptism making it complete. She really opened up to us in next lesson with us and told us how after she had meet us she received a message from God that told her she needed to  accept the things we would share.  When we followed up on her thoughts about being baptized she told us she was open to the idea of being baptized again. Hallelujah! She is so prepared! Since she lives in Preston and is there on the weekends we are going to pass her on to the Preston Sisters. 

A tender mercy of Sister Lee being ill last Monday was that I started deep cleaning the flat and doing the cleaning that needs to be done each transfer. Now that we are whitewashing and have a long list of to-dos before everything is ready for the new Sister it is nice that most of the cleaning is already done.  

This really has been the longest marathon of my life! During a long run, sometimes you get so tired you feel like you just want to die and for the race to be over already but when you finish you feel like you are on top of the world. That is the best way I can describe it. My soul feels satisfied with my work and I know I have tried my best and worked the hardest I could. I know that Heavenly Father is pleased with my mission. There is nothing I want more than to please Him and do His will. This is now the quest for the rest of my life. I want to return to His presence and be able to dwell there with my family and those I have meet and taught on my mission. There is nothing I want more.

I have built friendships here on my mission that I know will last forever.

I know that the work I have done here will have no end. The seeds I have planted will continue to grow forever. I, like a small pebble thrown into the river, have caused ripples and waves in the oceans of eternity. 

I love my mission, challenges and all. I love my Savior. I love my Heavenly Father. I will always be grateful for this sacred opportunity to wear a badge with my Savior's name on it. 

I'll see you all on the other side!

Love,

Sister Jordan

p.s- I love balloons and banners (hint,hint) ;)

Rise to the Occassion

A trip the walk in clinic, 2 to the GP, and 2 trips to the hospital later, my poor companion, Sister Lee has severe stomach pains that just don't seem to go away :( She is going to need to be flat bound until they figure out what is going on. Not so much good news for me.. Yesterday we went on splits with the members if we are going to be able to keep that up. I might have to go back and forth between my area and Kendall, where the nearest Sisters are to continue to be out working. 

It has been a crazy week and the week approaching will probably be a crazy week too. I never would have thought my mission is ending the way it is with my companion in and out of the GP and hospital. I feel stuck in between two places; I want to take care of my companion and I want to go out and work. The hardest part is I want to go out and work WITH my companion. As they say though, ''you can't have your cake and eat it too.'' 

Despite the craziness we were still able see our investigators this week:

We are finally getting some where with Jun's concern about Joseph Smith! She has been confused for a very long time about Joseph Smith and we have been explaining over and over again how he translated the Book of Mormon and did not write it. I am not sure what exactly we said that made her have an Aha moment but she finally understands why Joesph Smith is so important. We are looking forward to committing her to be baptized on a specific date. We know she has had a past witness from the Spirit that these things are true and now she is finally starting to resolve her own concerns. 

Demi and Sharon, our Nigerian investigators, are doing great! They both have kept their commitment to read the Book of Mormon. We met with Demi on her own this weekend because Sharon was sick. It worked out perfectly and it is definitely much easier to teach one person rather than two at the same time since their needs and concerns seem to be so different. We finished teaching Demi the restoration and she believes it is possible for God to appear to Joseph Smith. We invited her to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and invited her to be baptized. She responded to the latter that she has already been baptized. It is always a bit awkward explaining to people that they need to be baptized by the proper authority. We assured her that our message is true and she will need to pray to know for herself and with an answer will better be able to accept or reject the invitation to be baptized.

A new investigator from this week is Suraj. He is also Nigerian and is from a Muslim family. I taught him while on splits at the Perry's this weekend and watched the DVD To This End Was I Born. It was perfect for him. The Spirit in the room was practically tangible after the film ended. I asked him what he thought and he said this movie made him change the way he viewed Christianity. We explained that he change of heart he was feeling was the Spirit of God helping him to learn about Jesus Christ. He gave such a sincere prayer. 

So this week I went on exchange with Sister Fromgren from Norway in Carlise, the closest you can get to the Scottish border. It was a short 24 hour exchange and yep, my very last one! We found one new investigator on exchange named Mark. He is so prepared! He has made a lot of changes in his life that he knows is because of prayer and God's help. My exchange goal was to invite someone to be baptized and so I invited him on the spot to be baptized. He said he would once he comes to know these things are true.

Looking back on this week, we only really did maybe 2 hours total of finding (not including travel contacting) and yet we were still able to find new investigators. Not just any new investigators but GOLDEN investigators. Diana is one of them. We street contacted her at the Uni and she is a miracle find. Diana is from Latvia and she told us God is a big part of her life. We taught her on the spot very briefly about the restoration. She told us she had been pondering a spiritual question in her heart that morning and looked up to the heavens and said ''thank you!'' She is so humble and adorable. She actually lives in Preston and commutes to school. She told us she would message us her schedule and usually this means ''I'm not actually interested'' but the next day she actually messaged us and asked if we could meet her the next day! Miracles are real. Sister Lee taught her over exchange. Turns out she doesn't really understand who God is and didn't know He had a body. Yeah... thank goodness they taught to her needs about the Godhead. I called her last night and followed up with her prayers. She said she has been praying and the way she is now praying makes her feel like she has been set free. Wow. She just keeps getting more and more incredible. 

The thing I learned this week is how as we grow stronger and stronger our challenges must too become more difficult to allow us to continue to grow; I feel like I am at my best and have been working my hardest and yet the trials and challenges just do not seem to be getting any easier. Looking back on this week I stand all amazed at all the work Sister Lee and I have been able to do despite her severe stomach pains. There is no other explanation I can find except to say it was the enabling power of the Atonement carrying us through the week. Like an Apostle has once said ''we must not ask to have tasks equal to our power put the power equal to meet our tasks.'' We must rise to the occasion and always seek to learn and grow.

I am grateful that Sister Lee has been able to fight through the pain as long as she could. Now it is time for her to rest and hopefully re cooperate while we wait to hear from the medical professionals what is wrong.

I am not sure what will happen this week but I am going to choose to put my faith and trust in my Heavenly Father that He will take care of me and my companion and our investigators. Things are out of my hands and in His.

Please keep Sister Lee in your prayers!

Love,
Sister Jordan