Letter #28 the power of prayer..

¿QUE PASA FAMILIA?

we prepared a cute noche de hogar (family home evening) 

with the cutest little family about how we need to put on the armor of god!!

 so of course... i had to try on the props we made... ha!!

this week seriously was OSUM!!! and seriously... thank you for all your prayers!!! i cant even explain it to you... but I FEEL THEM!!!! THE POWER OF PRAYER IS REAL PEOPLE!!! thats all i´m sayin... :) but wow. i just feel so incredibly blessed to have such loving and incredibly family to love, support and pray for me day in and day out!!! :) the language is comin... i can feel it. i´m obviously not fluent yet... still have a LONG way to go. but this week i feel like i was really able to see progression and improvement as i´m really trying to forget my fears of speaking and not caring if i make mistakes!!! :) anyways, thank you. thank you. thank you. no words can express my love and gratitude... ahhh!!! i am seriously so blessed!!! i love you all so much!!! best. support. system. EVER!!!! :)

anywho... so back to this week. SO MANY good things are happening here in floresta. and it makes me so incredibly happy!!! cynthia is getting baptized this saturday (the cute girl i told you about during skype). we hit the most lesson i´ve ever taught my whole mission this week too!! which is so incredibly awesome!! cuz were literally just opening our mouths and talking with everyone we come in contact with!!!! :) its so incredibly awesome!!! THIS, this right here, is what missionary work is ALL about!!! now we just gotta take these contacts that we´ve made and help them progress and become converted as they learn about this new restored gospel and our purpose here on this planet!!! :) woo!!! i. love. missionary work!!! :)

please tell me that little girl isn´t the cutest thing you have ever seen!? :)

 the cutest perez absolutely loved the armor too, it was the cutest!!

but yes. i went on divisions this week with the sister training leaders, and wow. hermana crawley is from arizona. and she is incredible!!! seriously probably the most sweetest sincere people i have ever met!! i seriously feel like i learned SO much from her and her strength and testimony!!! :)

another highlight from this week... i took the advice from my rock star missionary sister in albania and began reading the new testament. i really wanna learn to relate to these duro catholics!! and seriously... THE NEW TESTAMENT IS CHANGING MY LIFE. like real talk. how have i never read this amazing book about our miracle working savior!? kills me. really does. anyway, one thing that really hit me this week while reading matthew 6 was when christ was teaching the sermon on the mount and he begins teaching about prayer...

 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 

after the awesome divisions i insisted on a self-timer group pics...

 hermana escalante, crawley, danahoe, && forte.. love these sisters so much!!! :)

like wow. so incredible right!? but the craziest thing to me... is right after he says this he gives a prayer to the father AS AN EXAMPLE... BUT... this prayer is the prayer that the catholics recite on the daily... uh... CHELLO!? just two verses before it explains how we shouldnt use vain repetitions!!! bah. blows my mind. anyways... cant wait to whip this scripture out, the next head strong catholic we come acrossed!!! :) but yeah, i also tried to apply this scripture to me and my personal prayers, because as humans we tend to get into the groove and pattern of saying ¨certain sayinigs¨ like ¨thank you for this day¨ and ¨please bless this food will nourish and strengthen our bodies¨... you ALL know what i´m talking about right!? well this week i´ve really tried to change up these ¨vain repetitions¨ and speak more from the heart when talking when our father in heaven and real talk... i can totally feel a difference!!! the power of prayer is real people, and when we use it in our everyday lives... HOLY SHMOKES!!! the impact is gifreakingnormous!!!! :)

anyways, i challenge you all, next prayer, try to re-focusing your words to come from the heart. all questions, or doubts or words of grattitude... everything that comes to mind!!!  open up that source of communication with your father in heaven. && i promise you, your relationship with your father in heaven will become more personal and stronger than ever before!!! i´m a living witness of this!!! he listens && he answers!!! i know it to be true with my everything that is within me!!! :) heavenly fathers knows and loves us, each and everyone of us personally. and what a blessing it is for us to know that!!!! :)

i love you all so incredibly much!!! beyond ALL words!!!

keep  being amazing and wonderful!!! :)

xoxoxoxo.

BESOS!!!

con amor,

hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #27 conquerors of our enemies..

HOLA MY WONDERFUL BEYOND WONDERFUL FAMILIA!!!!

i love you buenos aires, argentina... nuff said. :) 

#bigcitychick #stillmissmycountryhawaiianlife

ahhh... yesterday was seriously a dream!!! skype seriously is the greatest invention this world has ever created!!! i felt so spoiled!!! ahh!! i miss and love you guys so much!!! please excuse the MONTON of tears... just know they were tears of happiness!!! i seriously have been on cloud 9 ever since!!! :) i am obviously the luckiest person in the entire world to be so  blessed with such wonderful people in my life... and i get to call them MY FAMILY!!! ahhh!!! i just love life so much!!! :)

anywho... as you witnessed yesterday (which i apologize once again...) spanish has been kinda a struggle for me... as soon as i start seeing progression i realize, dang!! i still have SO much to learn!! its like a constant uphill battle unfortunately... but i found this scripture during my personal study && i knew i had to share it with my wonderful beyond wonderful family....

jacob 7:25....

25 Wherefore, the people of Nephi did fortify against them with their arms, and with all their might, trusting in the God and rock of their salvation; wherefore, they became as yet, conquerors of their enemies.

yes!!! spanish is my enemy at the moment!!! ha ha. but i know if i have trust in god and in my savior who is my rock and my salvation i can conquer this enemy of mine!!! :) but this applies to everyone!!! we ALL have daily enemies, temptations or trials... but with our savior, we CAN be conquerors of our enemies!!!! yes. i know this is true with all my heart!!! :)

welps, today is gonna be short due to lack of time... but i love you all more than any words could be typed out on this ghetto computer!!! :)

keep being amazing and never forget how much your missionary in argyland loves and misses you dearly!!! :)

xoxoxoxo.

forte & escalante on the subway headed to hear the inspiring 

words of presidente gonzalez (of the 70!!)... 

life changing by the way. this really way the best week ever!!! 

love you so much family!!!! :)

BESOS!!!

love always and forever,

hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #26 blinded by the fog..

QUE PASA FAMILIA!?!

wow... this week was so OSUM!!! did you know that i love being a missionary!? cuz i really do!! i love being the lord´s servant and serving his sheep here in argentina!! :)

foggy mornings from the apartment window... 

can you spy one of our pigeon friends!? ha ha.

but yeah... the city is still rad, face paced and filled with people!! and... we get hit on multiple times a day. definietly more drunk men here in the concrete jungle. but its all good!! just adds for good laughs through out the day!! ha ha.

but yeah... this week was especially strange, becuase three of the days we woke up to thick fog. fog so thick when we walked down the street we couldn´t see farther than a few blocks!! it was so eery!! but kinda rad all at the same time!! :) 

our ward had a talent show this week...

 hermana soto danced bolivian dance... so gorgous!!! love her!!!

anyways, we´ve been meeting with this investigator named vilma, and she seriously is SO awesome!! her mom is a recent convert and all her extended family are members, hence the referral. she even has a sister that moved to utah with her husband!! anyways, she really is wonderful, but she is the most stubborn, hard headed woman i have ever met!! ha ha. and she says her bible is perfect and she´ll believe anything that is in her bible. so... me and my comp took her word for it and looked for all evidences in the bible to show the need for the extended revelation of the book of mormon... and wow. seriously, every lesson we had with her was SO INCREDIBLE. seriously, the spirit was undeniable. and when i would testify my hands began to tremble from such a strong spirit!! like wow, this church is so true!! and the spirit is so real!! there is no way i could ever deny those feelings i felt... and it was amazing beacuse vilma felt them too!! ahh!! i was seriously so excited!!! i wanna see her in white so bad!! but yeah... unfortunately... she looked up some anti-mormon material online and so our last visit with her she had a totally and completely different spirit about her. seriously... broke my heart. there is nothing more heart breaking than seeing one of god´s children reject his word and gospel... wow. but yeah. we just testified about the truthfulness of this gospel and invited her to read the book of mormon becuase that was more ¨missionary-appropiate¨ then attempting to argue and stand up for our beliefs and all that we hold dear!! ha ha. anyways, i was then reminded of the fog that was had be walking through earlier that day... and then i was reminded of a scirpture found in first nephi 12:17...

 17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil,which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the childrenof men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perishand are lost.

hermana escalante and hermana forte at yo service!!! :)

and wow... thats exactly what has happened to vilma!! and so many other wonderful people out there in the world that have reject or left the church and gone inactive... the fog has simply just blinded their eyes from the truth!!! we can´t let this happen to us and those we hold dear, my family and friends... we must be strong and hold to the rod that leads to the wonderful beyond wonderful tree of life!! we must pull in our friends that are wondering lost in the fog too!! becuase this rod, this gospel, leads us to happiness. there is no doubt about that!! yes, the great and spacious building may seem appealing to the eye... all temptation is appealing!! or else it wouldn´t be a tempation!! duh!! ha ha. anyways, i love this gospel and all the joy and happiness that comes from living it, but especially preaching it!!! :) i´m so grateful to my heavenly father for this opportunity!! :)

i love you all!! the church is true!! && the book is blue!!

these boys did a mime... cutest thing in the world!!! 

i love this kid, he´s seriously the cutest and loves me!!! :)

keep being osum and wonderful!!!

xoxoxoxo.

BESOS!!!

love your missionary in argyland,

hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #25 from suburbs to city..

WOOWEEE... HOLA MI AMOROSA FAMILA!!!! :)

another week has come and gone can you believe it!? fastest week of my mission thus far... whew!! but i guess time flies when your having fun right!? :) and dang... this work is DIVERTIDO!!!! (translation: fun.) ha ha.

1 & 2... i already know. your SO jealous of our bunk beds!! ha ha.

but yeah. this new area of floresta is defineitly a whole new world... instead of homes, we have apartments and tall buildings. instead of our daily visit from our neighborhood cat during our personal studies in the morning we have pigeons. instead of pasta and empanadas (the native argentine foods) for lunch with members, we have had peruivan and korean food. instead of empty cobblestone roads we have people-filled concrete streets. ha ha. all in all though... its awesome!! both experiences i have loved, and i´m stoked to continue to know this amazing city!!! :)

although... okay... confession... one road that runs through our area is basically equvalient to soho in new york... aka... so... much... shopping!!! ahhh!!! and if you know me, you already know walking down this street is like a recovered alcoholic walking into a liquor store... its the ultimate tempation!!! ha ha. but yeah. lets just say were finally gonna visit this road today... finally!!! ha ha. another reason i love p-day!!! :)

but yesh. this city, in the capital of buenos aires is definitely more international. our ward is more international too!! Its OSUM!!! :) oh. spekaing of our ward though... wow. remember how i said were opening up this area for sisters? aka only elders were here before!? yeah. well... lets just say... the ward LOVES us!!! :) awe... it was seriously the warmest welcome ever!!! everyone was so excited to finally have sisters!!! it was great!!! :) but yeah. i also had to introduce myself in sacrament meeting yesterday... and... i´m proud to announce that i did so... without any notes or anything!!! whoop whoop!!! :) i was so proud!!! i mean, i obviously still have SO MUCH to learn... vocabulary, conjugations, the whole nine yards. BUT... finally i feel like i can see progress, and i know that having my wonderful native companion is such a blessing!! cuz she actually speaks amazing english as well!! so we follow the principle of the mission: english in the pension (to improve her english) and spanish in  the streets (to improve my spanish). and seriously, since shes a native spanish speaker, its easier to be diligent with this rule. and yes... FINALLY i can see improvements in myself which makes me so happy!!! FINALLY!!!! :) but yeah... the struggle is still real. but i can feel the spirit working on me and my progression in this language... especially when i testify!!! :) there is no doubt that this is the lord´s work and HE is the one in charge of spreading this amazing gospel to all the world!!! :)

the view from my desk... BIG CITY LIFE!!! :)

so... my awesome little bro, cam asked me if i have had any sick experiences this week... and i replied... DUH!!! every day is a sick experience!!! :D i dunno... i know it sounds super cheesy or cliche, but i really do love my life as of this moment!! this work is so amazing and i feel so blessed to have this amazing opportunity!!! there is no greater joy than teaching about this restored gospel to someone who has no idea why we are even here on this earth!!! ahhh!!! i love the plan of salvation and the light that comes into peoples eyes when they hear about thier purpose in this life!! :) ahhh!!! this church is SO true!!!! i love it. i live it. i teach it.

anyways, i love you all SOOO much!!! thanks for all your love and support ALWAYS!!!!

xoxoxoxo.

besos!!!

love always your missionary in argentina,

hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #23 from cover to cover...

first of all.... i need too send a huge shout out to two amazing people out in the world this week...

HAPPY HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY, TODAY, SHAUN!!!!

&&& HAPPY HAPPIEST BIIRTHDAY, IN TWO DAYS, CAM!!!!

whew... i´m just so glad i got that off my chest. i´ve been dying to type that all week!!! ha ha. but real talk. love you both more than words on this screen could EVER express!!! and hope you have the bestest beyond bestest day of births ever!!!! :)

me and my comp at some rad police memorial thing in capital... 

totally rad took loads of pics!!!! :) #gottaloveselftimer

anywho, this week was fabulous!!! hermana mowry and i surpassed our goal for the weekk && then some!!! ahhhh!!!! thats whats up!!! wooho!!! okay. but real talk... best numbers i´ve ever had thus far in my mission && i´m super stoked about it!!! were working hard, and its paying offf && it feels oh so good!!!! feeling so blessed this week!!! :)

another exciting thing that happened this week... guess who finished the book of mormon, from cover to cover, this week!? THIS GIRL!!! yup!!! thats right!!! i dominated the total BOM already in my mission and seriously... i´m obsessed with that book!!! its like what it says in 2 nephi 4:15-16.... ¨For my soul ^cdelighteth in the scriptures, and my heart ^dpondereth them...  Behold, my ^asoul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my^bheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard. ¨ 

seriously, i have no doubt that that blue book is the word of god!!! and i feel so bad that i have taken its wonderful pages for granted my entire life!!! the words and testimony found in those pages hold the secret to happiness!!! && yet we let it sit on the book shelf and collect dust... ahhhh!!! we must read and study these amazing pages of wonderfulness!!!! anyways... i think joseph smith described it best when he said, ¨the book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.¨ wow. if that doesn´t make you go grab your BOM and start reading i dunno what will!!! ha ha.

anyways, i´m so incredibly grateful for this opportunity i had to read this amazing book, but also for the divine opportunity i have to SHARE this amazing book and its teaching with the people here in argentina!!!! ahhh!!! i seriously love being a missionary && love bearing testimony about our savior jesus christ and sharing this amazing book that testifies about our savior over and over again!!!

my dearest family and friends... i´m challenging you NOW!!!! read the book of mormon!!! don´t follow my example and wait till your on a mission in a foreign country to read the book of mormon for teh first time, from cover to cover in your native language!!! ahhh... i´m seriously appalled by myself!!! BUT... there is no use in beating myself up for past mistakes. TODAY IS THE DAY TO CHANGE!!! :) dont you just love that everyday we get a NEW day to start over and become better than the day before!? ahhh!!! i just love life sometimes!!! :) anywho... READ THE BOM!!!! its bomb!!!! ha!!!! ;)

welps, my darling people that i love so much... keep being OSUM!!!! oh yeah!!! and... enjoy that nice spring, ¨gettin warmer¨ weather... cuz its definitely getting colder here!!! BLAH. no me gusta. dad warned me, ¨in july, you die!!!¨ well... i definitely think were dying a little early this year!!! ha. cuz real talk... i´m using ALL my colorado winter clothes already... including my humungo colombian jacket, boots, long socks, and scarves!!! woohooo!!! oh yeah. and can´t survive without my 4 blankets and heater at night. ha!!! def missing my hawaiian days.... but... i love my mission!!! and i wouldn´t trade this moment in my life for anything!!!! :)

i love you all so so SO incredibly much!!!! && i´m so grateful for you love support && examples in my life!!!! :) keep being amazing && out of this world wonderful!!!! :) i love you. i love you. i love you!!!!

xoxoxoxoxo.

love always and forever,

your missionary in argentina,

hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #24 this gospel is for EVERYONE.

so... happy happiest belated easter everyone!! :)

it really was a spectacular day to remember our savior and his atoning sacrifice for us!!! :)

Oh hermana archero... definietly the most fun member

 to take to lessons with us... nothing like 3 bici´s rollin 

down the street to teach the word!!! ha!!

a little update on this missionary in argentina though... i got transferred. yup!! left my beautiful home in villa adelina with my wonderful ward and my incredible companion and got sent to floresta, aka: capital. i´m super stoked though, becuase my new comp, hermana escalante, is from here, argentina!! so i really feel like my language and love for this amazing country is gonna really flourish this transfer!!! :) also... were opening up the area for hermanas here in floresta. so we have alot of work to do... but i´m super stoked to put my faith to to work and be the lords instrument in this new area!!! :)

so anyways.. this past week in villa adelina was incredible!! and i´m so grateful that i was able to end my time there with such a uplifting week!! :)

hermana fatima and her cute daughter and grandaughter...

 seriously cutest baby in the entire world!! :) 

also... hermana fatima is one of my favorite members in the ward... 

shes the absolute sweetest!! and makes the best peruivian food ever!!! :) 

gonna miss her!!! :)

so first i need to give a little background story... two weeks ago on sunday a new face walked into the chapel with a backwards hat, and rolled up sleeves revealing his tatted up arms. so of course, as the dedicated missionaries, we immediately approached this new person and began asking him questions!! :) turns out his name is david and he´s a menos-activo of 7 years and this morning he went for a walk, then foudn him self heading in the doors of the chapel... wow. i was SO shocked and so incredibly stoked!! :) anyways, so basically me and david hit it off right from the gecko. he speaks really good english becuase he grew up watching mtv. ha ha. (gets me everytime!! who knew that trash could be educational... not me!! ha ha ha.) but yeah. our similar tastes in music definitely bonded us: bob marley, linkin park, black eyed-peas. ha ha. it was OSUM!!! anywho... we were determined to get this guy active again. so after a few visits, we definietly have come to know david in a whole new light... long story short. he´s a king of the argentine swiss gang. yes. like no joke. i couldn´t make this stuff up. his mom died when he was really little and his dad ¨didn´t want him¨ he explains, so in need of a family he joined this gang!! but no worries, he´s only a 3 point king... cuz to be any higher he´s have to kill someone... *GULP*. anywho... he still gets together with his ¨krew¨ from time to time, but he hasn´t heard from the ¨big guys¨ in switzerland for a couple years with orders, so he says they are probably dead... oh. my. goodnesss. anyway... definietly explained his tatted crown on his arm... and his subtle confidence... i mean all kings have to be confident right!? ha ha. anywho... he´s probably the saddest thing for me to leave in villa adelina cuz i know my testimony touched his heart as i testified about our father in heaven and how he will never ever abandon us, or ever stop loving us, no matter what!! ahhh!!! no matter how many times he may have relasped smoking after getting baptized... oh boy. i seriously want him clean and holding the preisthood SO bad!!

awe.. my cutest little milagros and her cousin... gonna miss her too!!

anywho... after our lesson with david, the gang king, we went and had a wonderful lesson with my cute 9 year old covert, mili!! ahhh... i seriously love that girl so much!! and i feel so honored to have had the opportunity to give her life the direction and clarity of the gospel!! :)

anyways... that night as we rode our bici´s back to our humble abode with our 74 year old member, hermano archero, that accompanied us for another appointment i had this humungo epiphany... this gospel is for EVERYONE. like how amazing is that!? this gospel has the capacity to touch, relate, and heal EVERYONE. no matter the age. no matter the profession. no matter the living circumstances. none of that even matters one bit!! all that matters is that this gospel is based and centered on one solid foundation: our savior jesus christ. and that in itself unifies EVERYONE. the gang-banger, the 9 year old, the 74 year old grandpa, the 22 year old missionary... EVERYONE!!! ahhh!!! i just love this gospel so much!!! :)

anyways, that enough ramble for one day... ha!!! i love you all more than any words can express!! hope you had an amazing easter and that this week is extra wonderful!!! :)

xoxoxox.

besos!!!

love always your missionary in argentina,

hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #22 we are one..

HOLA HOLA HOLA MY WONDERFULLY BEYOND WONDERFUL FAMILIA!!!

oh... && HAPPY HAPPIEST CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!! :)

so... yeah. this week i basically have zero time. cuz... our zone far surpassed our numbers, so we basically got to have a zone fiesta at the mission home... and real talk. TOTAL BLAST. got to play uno, eat burgers (i miss american food), us hermanas played basketball in the rain, and wow. seriously, it was a blast and a half. i love my missiona and every single person in my mission!! :)

me and mowry waiting for the collectivo (bus) 

in the pouring rain.. gotta love it!!! winter is definitely here!!! :)

anywho... conference was definitely a different one for me, as it was all in spanish... ha ha. but it was amazing how the spirit was the same as even though our prophet and his apostles words were translated, their power and authority was still undeniable. ahhh!!! i love conference!! :) anywho, my amazing comp felt bad for my lack of understanding... so the last session we sat in the back and she translated the whole session for me!! now if that isn´t love i dunno what is. she is seriously SO amazing!!! and i´m so grateful for her love and example in my life!!! :)

ummm... delish cupcake anyone!? ha ha.

 #fatkidstatusinternational #judgemeallyouwant

 #missionariesneedchocolate

anywho... i had an epiphany moment as conference first began... becuase this was the SAME CONFERENCE my amazing family in utah was watching, my amazing sister in albania was watching, && my amaizng sister in hawaii was watching!!! WOW. like OBVI this church is true. its like the ultimate unifier!!! it unifies families (even families that are spread across the world!!!). it unifies wards. it unifies stakes. it unifies states!!! it unifies countries!!! &&& last but not least... it unifies the world!!! like seriously. this church is amazing!!! this church is one. one in spirit. one in purpose. no matter the language. no matter the culture. ahhh!!! such an amazingly beautiful thing that just makes my heart so happy!!!! we are one.!!!! :)

anywho, i hope you all thoroughly enjoyed conference and ate up every word from our wonderful leaders in the church!!! i know this church is true with all my heart!!! and i know that we are lead by a true living prophet that is inspired and acts as a mouth peice of god for us, his children. ahhh!!! i love this gospel SO much!!! and i love being a missionary... like so much!! thanks for all your love and support always!!! i really am the luckiest missionary ever!!! :)

besos!!!

xoxoxoxo.

love always and forever,

hermana jordan ashley forte

our cute little vegtable stand down the street from our house... 

we have basically become besties with teh family that works there too!!! :)