Today marks a month that Jordan has been out, and 4.5 weeks in the MTC - which means he's halfway!! 4.5 weeks left in the MTC before he flies to Tahiti! He has one more week learning French, and then he will start learning Tahitian! He's excited about that.
He's getting pretty good with his French now, and has memorized The First Vision in French! During our video chat today I asked him to say it for us and we recorded him!! Enjoy :)
Doesn't it sound so pretty?!
Click on this link to find out what The First Vision is, for those of you who don't know:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/first-vision?lang=eng
Our video chat today was extra special because it's the first time our whole family was "together" since Jordan left! It finally worked out for all of us to get together and chat with Jordan!! Of course we had to take a family picture, haha!
It was so nice for all the kids to be able to "hang out" together <3
Jordan is still as happy as ever, and loves being at the MTC. He's had a mild cold this past week, but said it hasn't been too bad. In Utah it's full fledged Fall, with cooler temps and rain! He's enjoying that a lot! But with that comes cold season, and he says its definitely going around the MTC. With 2,000 missionaries living there and being together all the time, he says just about everyone's got it. But it hasn't been too bad, and he's at the tail end of it now. Luckily he went prepared with vitamins and cold medicine. And luckily he likes the rain! He's getting it in Utah and he'll get it a lot in Tahiti - and that's something we don't get a lot here in CA. In any case though, Jordan has always been pretty good at rolling with things and being positive. He's such an incredible person :)
Speaking about being positive, Jordan has such a great message for us in his email this week:
Le moyen de Devenir
(The way to become)
Salut! (Hi!) It's been a great week! I've been sick, so that hasn't been fun, but it's not too bad, just a bit of a cold. Everyone gets it at least once here haha mais c'est la vie (But that's life). I have just over a week left of French and then I'll be starting Tahitian, which I'm super excited about.
This week I just want to share the strong conviction I have of not complaining. I read 1 Peter 4:12-13 and it made so much sense to me. I see people complaining all around me when things get tough or they're asked to step outside of their comfort zones or they're frustrated with learning a language, and I can't help but think that if we would spend as much energy on the task at hand as we do complaining, we might actually be able to accomplish much more than we realize. I love the way Peter phrases it in verse 12. This is not some strange thing that has happened upon us. We are literally here to learn and grow, whether that be at the MTC or just on this earth in general. Trials are the reason we are here. The difficult things we go through are intended to help us become better and realize how much we need to be reliant upon God. Do not complain that your situation in life is hard, though it may be more difficult than you think you can handle right now. The days will pass and one day we will look back with grateful tears in our eyes that we had the opportunity to pass through the trials that have made us who we have become. Keep your head up and focus on who you are becoming. Your attitude will determine how fully you fulfill your potential. Be positive. Focus on what's important. Forget about yourself and go out of your way for those around you. This is how we find what Peter describes as "exceeding joy". This is how we Become.
I love you all more than you know, each and every one of you reading this right now. Thank you for being you :)
À bientôt, (See you soon,)
Elder King
I love Jordan's message SO much. In today's society it is so common to complain about something that it's almost strange if something positive is said! Maybe people feel almost like by complaining about something we feel we are being humble - or at least not bragging. But really, being positive adds so much joy and gratitude to our lives! And to those around us. Every situation has good and bad, and focusing on the positive will help us to become more Christlike.
Thanks for the reminder Elder King!
Jordan sent some fun pictures this week! I love seeing that he's having fun in between all of the learning as well - although he thinks his classes are fun too, ha! But I'm happy to see he can goof around a bit :)
the district!
scripture study
goofballs :)
I love how Jordan ends his emails so much of the time with "A bientot!", which means "See you soon!" He's only weeks into a 2 year mission, and he says See you soon :) Makes my heart smile. And puts into perspective that while 2 years seems so long right now, it will pass, and this time of his life will be a blink when compared to the whole rest of it. I'm so grateful he has chosen to serve for these two years, and that he has made up his mind to learn and grow as much as he can. It's incredible to watch him "Become".
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