He is the Difference

 Written Nov. 4, 2013
I'm so glad that we were able to have Sis. Clay send you a picture of us and everything! It was so great to be at the Clay family's house last night for dinner with the sisters, and to be able to share a message with them. She absolutely loves you! There are alot of people here that look out for us, and the work is moving along great here. Ray is getting baptized this weekend,  we are excited for that, and its even more exciting that we were the ones to start teaching him. Most of the time it takes months for people to make the decision to be baptized, and several different missionary's. Ray is so excited about being baptized, and he can't wait. I can't remember if I told you about the baby that died or not?  The mother is the member. The funeral for the baby was on Tuesday at a different church. It was such a sad, but definitely interesting funeral. First the bishop spoke, and then the pastor from the baptist church started to speak. It was so amazing to me the stark contrast in the spirit between the two. With our bishop you could really feel the love that he had for them, and he was listening to the spirit to try and say what he needed to say to the family and everyone that was there. It sounded like the pastors address was almost memorized, and the spirit was not carrying it to the hearts of those that were in attendance. The difference was amazing to me. It was such a sad thing to witness, but we know many miracles will come because of it. We have seen the ward members already reach out and pull that family in. Her sister left their family some time ago, but has decided through all of this to return to her family and she was accepted. Without this all happening that might not have ever happened.

It is so amazing to be able to witness so many miracles every day. 

That stinks that we lost to Blackfoot, but I'm sure that it was great for Blackfoot to win game. It was great that we could give them that joy to end their season of hard work. Especially since it didn't really affect us much. I have faith that we will do amazing things in the playoffs if we just keep focused on the goal and the mission. y'all just have to be dedicated. 

I think I got your last package. Thank you so much!! Everything was great and so much fun. We love the jam, and we are getting some apples today for the caramel. The salsa got broken on the way, so we dint get to try that :/ haha but maybe y'all could send some more latter :)

The sweaters would be great, because you wouldn't thing that it would be cold here, but it is. It is a different kind of cold though. 60 degrees feels cold here and the cold goes right through you to your bones! Its so crazy!! The sweater that I am wearing is one that I bought last week. Hope you liked it :)  Did you see that Josey was in the last Jefferson Star that you sent me? 

Thank you so much for the Music too!! My companion and I both love music, so we listen to it all the time. The Lower Lights is a great band that we have found. 

Whatever happens in our lives happens for a reason. I have had to have faith that the atonement is enough to take care of all of us. Even me. Sometimes we feel like "yeah, sure that will work for others, but idk if its strong enough to work for me" It is. Jesus Christ willingly laid down his life so that we could make mistakes in our lives, learn from those things, and turn the rest over to him. Jesus Christ does not expect us to do our part and then he will make up the difference. He is the difference. His grace and love is.  

This has been one of the hardest things that I have ever done, but it is so worth it. I know that far Harder times lay before us, but that through Christ, all can be made right and okay again. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ we have nothing, and we are nothing.

I love y'all so much. you have no idea how much you mean to me. I am so grateful for the life and the standard of living that I have been blessed with. y'all are so blessed to live in an area with such a strong LDS community. Help the Missionary's in whatever way that you can, and try to offer them referrals whenever you can. Also try and go on team-ups with them so that they have members present at there lessons. Having members with you makes such a huge difference.Love you so much!!!

Love,

Elder Jorgensen