Letter #50 i am a disciple of christ..

WHAT UP!? WHAT UP!? WHAT UP!?

oh my wonderful familia that i love so much... how it be!? :)

everything is great and wonderful here in argyland and i´m just lovin every single minute!!! i can´t lie about it though... hermana palacios and i are definitely puttin in work to find them elect... and oh boy!!! it seriously feels SO good!!! i seriously have learned to love talking to everyone!!! and i dunno... i´ve tried to change my mind set and sometimes rejection is just plain out hilarious!!!! ha ha ha. sometimes all you gotta do is laugh when the person literally thinks we are of the devil or something crazy, or when they happily shake their finger in your face and say ¨NO!¨ with a fatty smile... ha ha ha. kills me everytime!!! but i think these moments are what makes the great moments so great!!!! :) like when we had a lesson with the family of ivan and he bears his testimony about the book of mormon and invites his whole family (brothers, sisters, and mom) to read and find out for themselves... awe... kills me!!! i love being a missionary so much!!! :)

but yeah. during my personal studies i´ve been reading in the good ol´ bible as i´m trying to build up my knoweldge to be able to relate to these strong devoted catholics over here in argyland!!! if you didn´t know... the pope is from argentina... and... his foto is all over these parts!!! ha ha ha. but yeah. i was reading in john 18 when peter denies christ 3 times...

 17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not.

25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.

 26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?

 27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.

and i just got to thinking... wow. peter, one of christ´s apostles, denied being a disciple of christ with his words 3 times... but... how many times have i denied being a disciple of christ with my actions!? i mean... we all know  the famous phrase, ¨actions speak louder than words¨, right!? but are our actions really showing our true discipleship to our christ and savior!? ahhh... i dunno. it really hit me hard during my personal study!! and then it reminded me of a amazing scripture i remember my baby sister send out when she was in the mish in albania... romans 1:16...

 16 For I am not ^aashamed of the ^bgospel of Christ: for it is the^cpower of God unto ^dsalvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

&& thats all she wrote folks!!! ha ha. chiste. but seriously... we can´t be ashamed of our name!!! we are of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints!!! we must honor this title and live it with our words and actions!!! i am a disciple of christ. and i feel so honored to wear his name next to mine every single day in my mission!!! but my discipleship will not end after the mission!!! we don´t need a tag to be his representative!!!! we represent his name and our devotion to him every. single. day. we got this family!!! he knew we could do it... thats why were here!!! this life is our divine mission!!! our divine opportunity to show our love and discipleship!!! :)

ahhhh.... i love this gospel and the clarity and direction it brings into our lives!!! we must never take it for granted!!! :)

i love you. i love you. i love you. ALL!!!! like so so so so so much my lovelies!!! have the most fantastic week ever!!!! :) and never forget how much your missionary in argentina loves you to the moon and back!!!! :)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.

chau chau.

besos.

-hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #49 && they lived happily ever after..

ALOOOOOOOOOHA!!!!! :)

ahhhh... my marvolous family... how i love and miss you so freakin much!!!! just so you know!!! i´m so incredibly grateful for this grand decision i made to come out on the mission... but i still miss your faces mucho!!!! ha ha ha. but i hope all is well and wonderful in your amazing lives!!!! :)

the bride and groom..
love them so much!!! :)

here is congreso this week.... it was incredibly perfect. seriously. i have zero words that can express my feelings and gratitide for this amazing week in my mission!!!! :) 

nut shell version of wondefulness...

thursday: liz and ivan got married.

saturday: ivan got baptized and then we had a wedding reception.

sunday: ivan got confirmed.

ahhhhh... and seriously... the whole time i just kept thinking... THIS is the reason i am here on my mission. yes. i miss my family. yes. a year and a half is a long time. but here i am helping this amazing family start their journey for forever!!! && in one year they can enter the temple and be sealed for all time and eternity!!!! ahhhhh!!!! seriously brings me so much happiness i could cry!!!! and the most amaizng thing is... this is just the beginning!!! ivan is SO converted its unbeleivable!!!! its visiable to the eye!!!! he has such a light about him and his friends and family are ALL asking!!!!! ahhhhh.. i love this gospel SOOO stikin much!!!! its incredible. its contagious. its the truth. nuff said. :)

anyways... i´m sorry i don´t have too much time to write today.. but i love you all more than words can express!!! have the bestest beyond bestest week ever and ever!!!!! :)

xoxoxoxoxoxo.

chau chau.

besos.

hermana jordan ashley forte

every bride needs flowers, no!? :) ahhhh!!!!
it was perfect!!! they matched her dress perfectly too!!! :) :) :)

rice anyone!? #kodakmoment

-

hermana palacios, ivan,
 && hermana forte... .#baptismbringshappiness

 quick story... ivan had struggled with the word of wisdom
 before and was worried about not drinking
 wine with his buddies after the wedding...
so when he pulled out a huge bottle of wine
 and began pouring everyone a glass we got super worried...
then he pulled out a huge bottle of sprite
and poured him and liz a glass... ahhhhh!!! it was so perfect!!!
 i almost cried!!!!
 #goldenmoment #ilovebeingamissionary

Letter #48 back to the basics..

HEY HEY HEY!!! :)

oh my wonderful beyond wonderful family and friends... i´m writing you from my lovely area of congreso and i´m so incredibly happy about it!!!! :) 

this past week was seriously so beyond incredible!!! between our trip to the temple, two days of conference, and prepping liz and ivan for thier wedding next week and the baptism of ivan... seriously... 

i am one happy missionary!!! :) i seriously love being a missionary so much!!!!! :) ahhhh!!!! 

but yes... how was conference!? seriously it was so incredible for me!!! and to think i was getting inspired by the same words as my family back home really hit home for me... if you know what i mean... ha!!!! ;)

my osum zona de la boca... love these missionaries more than words can express!!! :)

but yes. i am seriously so incredibly grateful for the truely inspired words of our incredible prophet and apostolic leaders in this church... we are seriously SO blessed!!! we are not alone in this journey of life!!! we have leaders who are literally ¨in tune¨ with everything and here to help lead and guide us every step of the way!!!! :) but.... one of the things that really caught my attention throughout the entire conference, is that every single talk focused on a basic principle of the gospel... all of the basic principles us missionaries teach our invesigators is exactly what our leaders were teaching us as members of the church!!! obviously more elequently powerful... but... its the same basic princles of this gospel. and i was just thinking... wow. the gospel is SO easy to understand!!!! its the same basics we learn in primary!!!! but somehow we complicate the basics and convince ourselves to believe it too hard to do... WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE BASICS PEOPLE!!!! we need to pray everyday. we need to read our scriptures everyday. and we need to go to church every sunday. its the OLA!!! :) ORAR, LEER, ASISTIR. (translation: pray, read, asisst.)

utah and mexico... forte and palacios...
were kinda a big deal... ha ha.

but yes. no worries. i DO remember life before the mission and i DO remember how hard it is sometimes to do these simple basics things every single day... BUT... i also remember the sacrifice our lord and savior made for us... and as a member ofHIS church, and a disciple of HIS name, i made a promise to always remember HIM. and the best way to ALWAYS rememberHIM is by reading HIS word, the book of mormon, another testament of HIS life, and by praying to my heavenly father in HISname. its as simple as that. :)

hola, soy hermana forte. :)
 #ilovetoseethetemple #crappywindyday

ahhhhh.... we can do this my lovelies!!!! we got this!!! we cant let life get us down!!!! lets us remember our priorities and apply what we learned this wonderful weekend to our everyday lives!!!! we can´t only do ¨lip service¨!!!! we must act and not be acted upon!!!!! :)

ahhhh... i love you all so much!!! and i hope you all had an incredibly wonderful and inspiring weekend tooo!!!! :)

have the bestest week ever my lovelies!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo.

chau chau.

besos.

-hermana jordan ashley forte

Letter #47 i love congreso..

EYYYYYYYY FAM!!!! COME ESTAN!?!!? :)

dang... i seriously love you all so much and hope your lives are all grand and wonderful ahora en fall time utah-ville!!!! :)

beach selfie!!!! #ohmygoshineedtotakeaselfy...
by the way. yes. i have heard this ridiculous song.
 and yes. its riduculous. but yes. i died laughing too. ha ha ha.

this week really was another incredible one in the life of hermana forte.... yup. liz and ivan are finally getting married!!! and then two days later ivan is finally gonna get baptized!!!! ahhhhhh!!!! i´m seriously so overjoyed with happiness!!! i´ve been working with this family since the first transfer here in congreso, and i´ve been able to see the change and light that has entered into their home as they have accepted the teachings of this grand gospel in their lives... ahhhh!!!! the only microscopic downfall is that the boda (or wedding) is two days AFTER the transfer next week... and the baptism is two days AFTER the wedding... aka: if i get transfer next monday. i don´t get to see this amazingness take place. so lets just say every night i´m praying so freakin hard that i can have another amazing transfer here in congreso with my lovelies!!!! ahhhhh!!!! I LOVE CONGRESO!!!! like so so so so much!!!!! nuff said. :) but yeah... IF... i do get transfered though... (praying thats not the case)... i know this is the work of the lord, and that HE ultimately has a greater plan and knows whats best for each of his blessed children!!!! :) yesterday in gospel principals we were talking about our loving heavenly father and how the trinity are three seprete beings... i had this moment of ¨DUH¨ inspiration... god is our heavenly father. we are his children. thats why we are all brothers and sisters. so obviously we all look and have qualities like our father in heaven!!!! he has a body of flesh and bones just like us.... and he loves us so much he wants to have the same happiness he has, thats why he gave us this amazing opportunity to come  to earth and obtain a body of flesh and bones just like him!!!! he literally is our FATHER!!!! he wants us to learn and grow and reach our full potential.... so obviously.... like any other earthly father may understand... sometimes he needs to have ¨TOUGH LOVE¨ and let us work through our trails and challenges as he ultimately knows it will help us to learn and grow.... ahhhhh!!!! i love this gospel and knowlege so much!!!! we  really are so blessed to know the truth!!!! :)

i love you all like crazy!!!!

and p.s. mom and dad, next week is transfers so you´ll hear from me on tuesday!!! (lets pray i´ll be emailing from this same ciber here in congreso!!! ha ha ha ha. #missionaryproblems #ilovecongreso #areawithdrawls)

i miss the beach so much!!!!
#hawaiiwithdrawls #sorryboutit #hawaiianatheart

i love you. i love you. i love you.

xoxoxoxo.

chau chau.

besos.

-hermana jordan ashley forte 

last p-day our zone went on this ¨nature trail¨ walk thingy...
basically walked on a dirt road for a good 2 hours
 and ended over looking the ocean!!! ha!!! psych.
 more like the muddy river
 that eventually opens up the ocean...
but still i was overjoyed to be back at the ¨beach¨...
mas or menos. ha ha.

Letter #46 ¨livin on a prayer¨

HOLA HOLA HOLA... WHAT UP WHAT UP WHAT UP MY OSUM FAM!?!?!? :)

let me see your grill meets jesus wants me for a sunbeam... ha!!!

oh how life is so beautiful and wonderful and how blessed we are to be here in this beautiful earth with so many blessings!!!! :)

awe. i love you. i love you. i love you.

seriously... i have so many feelings of gratitude to my father in heaven for sending me to learn and grow within the bloodline of such a wonderful family... seriously... i love you all so much!!!! and i miss you like currrrazzzy!!!! :)

but yeah. i gots a grand work to do here in buenos aires!!! entonces... i´ll see you in a little bit!!! like 7 months!!!! ha ha ha. (still do crazy to me... where is the time going!? trippin me out!!!! freakin me out!!!!! ahhhhhhh!!!!!)

anywho... this week was yet another ridiculously hard but wonderful week en la obra misional!!!!! :) seriously... i love missionary work so much!!!! its crazy!!!!

the classic ¨missionary jumping foto¨... gotta love it!!! :)

but yeah... i had kinda a cool experience the other day in the collectivo (bus) on our way to a zone conference.... as i was looking out the window marveling at the beauty of this incredibly city and reflecting on this amazing opportunity i have to serve here and the amaizng people i have met and the relationships i have created... but how hard of a struggle this language has been and how hard it is to find ¨the chosen ones¨ here in this crazy big city life of buenos aires... && wow... then.... the song ¨livin on a prayer¨ by bon jovi came on the radio.... and i can´t explain it family... i know i´m such a baby!!! but i almost started to cry!!!! not only is this song a song of my childhood and brought back so many memories as a family... but.... in this moment in my life this song has a WHOLE NEW MEANING!!!! :) and i can´t explain it.... but i felt like heavenly father was talking to me in a language that only us forte´s would understand... music. bon jovi. ha!!! who woulda known!? ha!!! anywho... but this song ended up being my theme song throughout the whole rest of the week!!!! cuz seriously... i´ve been livin on a prayer!!!!! we literally are back to ground zero as we dropped everyone that wasn´t progressing... and he keep contacting, and contacting, and contacting.... but no one has REAL interest!!! and sometimes its hard to know WHAT to do and HOW to do it...

but.... just like it counsels in alma 37...

 36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thydoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

 37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

cute caminto!!! it really is the cutest tourist attraction ever...
 i wanted to but everything!!!! #missionaryproblems

seriously... when i found this scipture a couple days later during my personal study... i literally wanted to belt out ¨LIVIN ON A PRAYER!!!¨ ha ha ha. but yeah. the part bolded in verse 37 really stuck out to me... and in my english scriptures the word ¨good¨ has a little footnote with the words: ¨abundant life¨.... like wow!!! seriously... heavenly father loves us SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!!!! he wants us to have an abundant life!!!! but... we have to align our lives with his will to receive this ¨abundance¨ of blessings.... ahhhh!!! but thats why we have prayer!!! ahhhh!!! i love prayer so much!!! its such a divine opportunity to talk with our father in heaven, who loves us SOOOOOOOO much!!!! and to align our lives with his will through his inspiration!!!!! :) ahhhhhh!!!! seriously... there are no words to describe his divine love for us!!!! but the best part is... if we ever are lacking in this reassurance... all we need to do is get on our knees and pray!!!! its like the darling quote shaunie has had in her room for pretty much like my whole life... WHEN LIFE GETS TOO HARD TO STAND... KNEEL!!!! its so simple!!!! and yet, sometimes in this busy hectic crazy life we forget the simplicity and get lost within our own lives!!! ahhhh!!! we can´t forget to pray my loves!!! pray for thanks!!!! pray for direction!!!! pray for support!!!! pray and counsel with the lord in ALL our doings!!!! he wants to help us!!! he wants to direct us!!! he wants us to be happy!!! thats why we have this amazing blessing of prayer!!!!! :) but what good is a blessing if we don´t use it.... PRAY MY LOVES!!!!! it works!!!! he listens!!!! i testify of that!!!!!! :)

anyways... i love you so much my lovelies!!! and i pray for you every single day!!!! :) never ever ever forget my love for you!!!!! :)

xoxoxoxoxoxo.

chau chau.

besos.

-hermana jordan ashley forte

p.s. this ghetto ciber were at right now wont read my memory card... so... sorry... i´ll send pics next week!!! :)