Look Who Is In The News!!!

When Jordan gave his Farewell talk, one of the reporters for the Deseret News was in the audience. Afterwards, he asked Jordan if he could have a copy of his talk to share with the editors at the Mormon Times, a section of the Deseret News. Here is the story and link: http://mormontimes.com/WC_missions.php?id=1187

Missionary learned to live with adversity

By Maddie Wilson

MormonTimes.com
Published: Wednesday, May. 28, 2008

OREM--Jordan Colton opened his final church talk before leaving on his two-year Latter-day Saint mission with a lie.

"Those of you who know me know how little experience I have had with adversity," he said. "OK, that's a lie."

Some people have even told him that he has dealt with more adversity than most in his 21 years of life.

But he said he would not be able to tell the difference.

"I just take things as they come and try my best to turn to the Lord for his guidance, love and support," he told his Aspen 5th Ward of the Aspen Orem Stake days before he left to train for missionary service in the North Carolina Charlotte Mission.



Colton's positive attitude has beamed brightly through his "smiling eyes" since he was 4 years old, said his mother, Cathy Colton. It was at this time that Jordan Colton's battle with adversity began.

One day, while his mother was giving him a bath, she found a lump on the left side of his neck, Jordan explained in his talk.

"Being a concerned mother, she went to my pediatrician, and he said it was probably an infection and gave my mom some antibiotics that would solve the problem," Jordan said.

But the lump only got bigger.

Cathy Colton, described as a "spiritual giant" by her son, knelt and asked the Lord what she should do to help her little boy. She said the inspiration came to take him to Primary Children's Hospital. But she did not know what department to take him to when she got there, so she prayed again. Once more, an answer came: oncology.

"No!" she thought at the time. "That means cancer!"

Jordan said that after a day of testing at Primary Children's, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive and highly malignant cancer of the soft tissue. His parents were told that he would have a 35 percent long-term chance of making it to his 10th birthday because of the size and location of the tumor, Jordan said.

Jordan underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments for a year. Doctors told his parents in the beginning that there would be long-term side effects from the treatments, including scarring, growth issues and complications with his teeth because of the location of the cancer.

"My parents put their faith and trust in the Lord and went through with the treatments," Jordan said. "Hence why I am still here today."

Although Jordan has been cancer-free for 16 years, he said the side effects from the treatments have "come into fruition."

The first was a hole in his left eardrum.

"I had a tube placed in my left ear right before the cancer was diagnosed," he said. "When the left side of my head received radiation, that little tube would heat up and it eventually seared a hole in my eardrum." That hole has been patched twice since. Jordan said it's a blessing that he still has his hearing in that ear.

Cathy explained that Jordan's throat was so damaged by the treatment that he had to have a feeding tube inserted so he could eat.

The major side effect Jordan said he has been dealing with has been his teeth.

Because he was only 4 years old when treatment began, the majority of his permanent teeth were still little buds in his jaw, he said. To keep his face symmetrical, both sides of his face were radiated. The radiation killed the cancer cells but also killed the tooth buds.

"The radiation and chemotherapy basically destroyed the roots of those teeth, and I was bound to lose them a lot sooner than the average person," Jordan said. All of his baby teeth developed radiation cavities and had to be capped.

"We hoped those little teeth would hold up," he said.

The Coltons searched for specialists to help Jordan's case and were told he would have to finish growing before they could create a permanent solution. So they put a brace behind his top teeth so they could support one another. This brace was supposed to last until he turned 16 or 17.

To help with his growth, Jordan started growth hormone treatments, and after about two years, he said he grew 2 1/2 inches, putting him just over 5 feet, which is his current height.

When he, his doctors and parents felt he was finished growing, they focused on his teeth. It was about this time--when Jordan was a teenager--that his father, who was working as a business analyst, lost his job.

"In some ways, (losing the job) was harder than Jordan's cancer," Cathy said.

"We were put into a different situation without insurance, and we had to find someone who had experience with cases such as mine," Jordan said.

This time in his life was particularly hard, he said.

"Throughout high school, it was a struggle," Jordan said. "I tried to hide how much of a struggle it was for me. Every time we thought we had found a solution, it ended up not working. In blessings from my dad, I was told that I would serve a mission and that eventually it would work out, but honestly, I did not feel like it was going to happen."

When he graduated from Timpanogos High School in 2005, Jordan still had his original teeth, which had lasted a year longer than doctors said they would.

By this time, the Coltons had finally found a doctor in Salt Lake City who had worked with radiation treatment patients and was willing to place implants in Jordan's mouth. The implants would act as roots for the crowns that would be his teeth, he said. The only problem the Coltons had was figuring out how to pay for the surgery.

At the time, Jordan home-taught a woman in his ward who was always interested in the progress with his teeth and whether he was able to go on a mission yet.

"Each time (I home-taught) I had to tell her that progress was slow and I was still trying to take it a day at a time," Jordan said. "We were still struggling to make ends meet. (This sister) was a woman of great connections and she pulled some strings to have my implants paid for."

Cathy said the woman did not want her name or connections printed in the newspaper.

"Sadly, (she) died and she never got to see the final results," Jordan said. "But after she had passed away and was buried in the Orem Cemetery, I went to her gravesite and thanked her for what she had done for me. And I asked that if she had any more influence, maybe she could help us with the final procedure (placing crowns over the implants) so that I could serve a mission."

Jordan said he got his final request from her.

The Coltons found a dentist who, "out of the kindness of his heart" pulled some strings to lower the cost of the crowns, Jordan said. But the Coltons still needed money.

"(This sister) must have had some influence even on the other side because in a very small amount of time, while I was at work, my dad came over and placed an envelope on my desk. I opened it up and it was a check from the same people who had helped with the implants, who had now given us the money that would pay for most of the crowns. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I hugged (my dad) and then called my mom to tell her the good news. It was enough to get the procedure rolling."

Jordan said an "anonymous angel" took care of the final bit of cost for the procedure, and he thanked whoever that might be during his talk.

"If you are in this room right now, I do hope that you know how much I appreciate that sacrifice in my behalf," he said. "I want you to know that I will always be grateful and will never forget that selfless sacrifice you made for me. It has made me want to become a better man and will make me a better missionary."

The procedure was completed in November. Jordan received his mission call in January, and left the Provo Missionary Training Center for North Carolina on May 14.

"At times it has felt like an eternity going through this whole experience. I really had doubts about my chances of going on a mission," Jordan said. He said he set his goal of fulfilling a mission when he was a Primary child.

He said his adversity--as well as anyone's adversity--can be made bearable with the Lord's help.

"(Adversity) is going to be really hard at times, so much that you think you just can't handle it anymore, at least it was in my experience," he said. "But just remember that the Lord will not give you more than you can handle. That is such a great comfort. It really did help me through these past three years before I was finally able to get my (mission) call and accomplish this goal."

Cathy said she knows the Savior's love for Jordan, and knows that Jordan also understands it. This knowledge of the Savior's love has helped the Colton family through hard times.

Cathy related an experience she and Jordan had when he was very young and trying to understand his sickness. She said she was praying one night for Jordan to feel comforted. Soon after her prayer, Jordan came to her and told her he had a dream about the Savior. He said that in his dream, the Savior came to him, held Jordan in his lap and told him that he would be OK. Cathy said Jordan was able to reflect on this dream whenever he was having a hard time.

"The Lord's hand was in all of it," she said.

Jordan ended his talk by also acknowledging the Lord's hand as well as others who helped him along the way.

"Throughout this whole experience, I know I could not have done it without the love and support from my close friends, my family and especially the Lord," Jordan said. "It was a very humbling time, and I truly learned patience and how we can gain experience through adversity. I am reminded of what the Lord told the Prophet Joseph (Smith) while he was in prison."

He then read from the Doctrine and Covenants 121:7: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment."

MormonTimes.com is produced by the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Copyright © 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company

He made to North Carolina!!!

Elder Knighton(his companion in the MTC) and Sister Hatch are sitting up front, and there is Elder Colton waving to all of us. They are on their way to the mission home

Hey Guys,

I'm at the local library where they have computers for us to use. Its been a very interesting week. So we had the connecting flight to Charlotte from Ohio, and when we went to the baggage claim President and Sister Hobbs were waiting for us. I was the first one down and President Hobbs gave me a big hug and he welcomed me to the mission. Sister Hobbs shook my hand and they did a nice little welcome for everyone. I was still pretty nervous so I didn't say a lot. He called the Assistants and they came in with the Mission Assault Vehicle (MAV) and a trailer. We loaded up all of our luggage and then piled into the MAV, while President and his wife went to their car.

We drove to the mission home, took our pictures and then we went inside and met some more people that work at the mission office.(mom's note: we did get a picture of Jordan w/ Pres. and Sister Hobbs and a sweet letter this week).

We had dinner at their home, it was Mexican food and cheesecake for dessert. I didn't eat very much because I was still nervous. Then we had a little training meeting with the Assistants and in between all of that we had interviews with the President. The rest of that night was just reading a little bit from our Mission binder and then we said goodbye to everyone. Sister Hatch stayed there at the mission home and all of us Elders went to a Comfort Inn. Elder Knighton shared a room with me. We each had Queen size beds to stay in, that was nice. I didn't sleep a ton but it was nice to have a little bit of a better pillow then what I had at the MTC. The next morning we got up and we went down and had breakfast in the lobby. Then the Assistants picked us up and we started to head to Statesville where everyone meets for transfers.

When the time was right we went into the Relief Society room where we were introduced to our trainers. I was one of the last, my trainer is Elder Brown. He is about 6 feet tall so that is fun! He is from Spanish Fork Utah. He is really into music and I'm sure that Christian would really like him. His favorite band is Radiohead. He likes the same type of music we like as well. He really is into listening to what the artist is trying to say in the lyrics of songs, and trying to find the inner meanings. I do the same thing, so we have that same similarity. He has 7 months left to serve in his mission. He said that the area that we are in now is probably the best one that he has been in.

Our area is Tanglewood, which is South-West of Winston-Salem. We cover I think like 3 counties and its a suburb of Winston-Salem. We are allowed to drive up into Winston-Salem to go shopping, that is what we are going to do today. I found out that there is a Costco here so we are going to stop by there. I'm really excited about that for some reason!!

We finished Transfers and I got my bike from Scott Mull (he owns the bike shop). We loaded up all of my stuff into one of the member's trucks and drove into our area.. Our apartment is just for the two of us. We have a downstairs that has a living room and then the kitchen with half of a bathroom. We also have a washer and dryer so we don't have to use a member's washer and dryer. Upstairs is where the shower/bath is in another bathroom and then there are 2 bedrooms. One for us to sleep in and then the other is our study room. On the walls we have 2 maps, one for members and less actives, and then another for investigators. Elder Brown let me unpack and get myself situated. Then we headed out on a Team. This is where we go out with a member of the ward to an investigators home or go see a less active member.

We went to an investigator who was a Youth Minister for his church and is also working on his Doctorate. So he was very intelligent. I was glad that we had the Member with us, because he seemed like a very smart guy himself and is also the Elder's Quorm president. The Investigator only believed in Christianity because of the Physical Evidence. He said that was the only way that he would believe in the Book of Mormon. We tried to explain that we go more for a feeling and that we rely on the spirit, but he just wouldn't take that. I kept quiet for most of the conversation (ok all of it mostly).

The next morning we got up and did our studies and all of that in the morning and then headed out in our bikes. This last week was bike week and we will be getting a car later today after we go shopping with the Sisters who had the car last week (hope that makes sense)

The first thing that happens once we get out of our apartment and onto the main road a woman sticks her head out of her car and says "F***** Mormons!!" Elder Brown was pretty shocked, I laughed and he said that had never happened to him before while he had been on his mission. Welcome to the South I guess. Either they hate you or will politely just say no thanks, but still offer you a glass of water. Ive met some great people already and I really have grown to love the Members here. They are very supportive and really will do almost anything for us.

The first members I met were the Skinners. They had just returned from Utah to go to a Wedding for his sister-in-law. She was married in the Timpanogos Temple and they had the reception at Noah's Ark. I got to see some pictures and that was nice to see home again :) and that they were just right in our backyard. They said they went to the Lindon Walmart a few times while they were out there. We shared a short message with them after, which was just going quickly through The Restoration pamphlet that we give out to investigators and anyone else that wants one. So that was a nice comfort for me to know that we don't have to teach deeply. Another tender mercy from the Lord. The rest of the week was like that. We went to different homes and tried to find my way around, but its still hard to figure out exactly where am since we don't have mountains to get my bearings.

Sunday was way good. The Skinners picked us up and took us to church. It was almost like going into our ward at home. Everyone knew everyone and they all were so nice and welcoming. I still was sleepy so I fell asleep during Sacrament meeting, but I did listen to the talks! They were very well done. After Sacrament and all of the meetings we went out biking and it rained on us.

That was a very interesting rain. We had our poncho things to wear, but my pants got soaked. It was good I just wore regular dress slacks instead of my suit pants. It reminded me of Forrest Gump when he talked about the different types of rain. It came at every direction and I hated how the rain would fly up in my face from my tires and it made it hard to see. I need to get in shape :) my legs yell at me all day to stop. I may be slow, but I keep going. I know that eventually it will get better.

I guess its pretty rare for a lot of the mission, but here the members feed us dinner like almost everyday. So we just have to worry about breakfast and lunch. But sometimes they feed us then too. Like on Saturday morning we went and did a Service project to help one of the Brothers clean up after a Tornado that hit a week ago. Don't worry they are rare here and this is the first one to hit in 10 years. But we cut some logs and then we worked on just moving debris.. I would like to do more service stuff like that since it just reminds me of what I have done at home. I feel like I've accomplished more than when I'm just riding my bike to and from places.

I haven't gotten any letters yet from home since I've been out here, but the homesickness hasn't been as bad as it was at the MTC. When I'm out doing stuff I don't have time to think about that and its nice to not have to worry. I just kind of hope that things pick up and start to go fast as I keep going on. Well my time is almost up on here. I appreciate you love and prayers and support for me. Its so nice to know that I'm not doing this alone. I love you all so much, and its hard to express that in words.

I have come to love all of you so much more since I've been out here. To have the fullness of the Gospel and that Knowledge that we can be together forever. Well I'm going to go now, but I'll be back next week to let you know how things are going. Maybe I'll have an interesting story to tell. Who knows!!I love you guys and keep chuggin along, I sure am!

Love Elder Colton!!!

Church News in Charlotte...

This is a commentary from the NPR station in Charlotte WFAE, this is great!! Click on the link below and then the listen icon for A Mormon in the Bible Belt

A Mormon in the Bible Belt
(5/12/08) In recent months, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has appeared frequently in news headlines. First with Mitt Romney's failed bid for the White House. And now as the Mormon Church struggles to distance itself from a polygamous group under scrutiny in Texas. All of the attention has caused WFAE commentator Cydne Horrocks Watterson to reflect on her experiences as a Mormon transplant in the Bible Belt.

http://www.wfae.org/wfae/nav1024.cfm?cat=1&subcat=89&subsub=119

Pictures at the MTC

Here are some photos of the people Elder Colton spent most of his time with at the MTC. There is a picture of his district and zone. I sent him a fiesta in a box for Cinco de Mayo, which fortunately fell on his P-day. He had a pinata stuffed with full sized candy bars. Lucky pinata breaking mustaches, a big bag of tortilla chips, salsa, and apple beer. He had an awesome companion Elder Knighton-they had some great talks and experiences. They got to fly out together to Charlotte.

And He's Off!!!

One week left in the MTC...

Here is the latest news from Elder Colton:

I did get my travel plans. I will be leaving on a week from this Wednesday May 14th. We have to be up by 5 and then we will be flying out around 7ish I think. We have a layover in Cincinnati Ohio and then we fly from there to Charlotte. That does get me a little excited and that this is a reality for me. I really know I couldn't be doing this without the support and love from everyone that has written me. It helps me so much.

We are working on the 2nd lesson this week, which is the Plan of Salvation. I already have my outline finished for it, I'm just scared to actually have to go through it and try to teach it. But I'm remembering that it just needs to be simple and that finding scriptures and that kind of thing will come in time. That is one thing i just really need to work on and that is that I'm on the Lord's time all of this stuff and not mine. I know that I can do this.

I had the most sincere prayer last night telling Heavenly Father how hard this has been for me and that I cannot accomplish this without the Lord's help. I just have to keep remembering that and that I will be able to do this. Thank you so much for helping me and for giving me support when I need it. I'm so glad to have the letters from home to read over and over again to keep me excited and to help me to feel good.

A lot of my days are just spent in class. I haven't found anyone really that Ive been able to reach and talk to. I honestly feel its more for the other missionaries for them to gain confidence in talking with people and I did that a lot working at Bronson. The TRC (Teaching Resource Center) is what is really hard. I mean it does help to get things figured out and all of that, but it still makes me way nervous and I feel like I'm sweating like a pig under my suit.

We sing a lot here and I really don't like the singing that we do in class. When its devotionals and that kind of thing it reminds me of Conference and its no big deal. I don't know if I'll be singing as much when I'm out in the field. I'm sure we will in Zone Conferences and that kind of thing, but hopefully not with just me and my companion. That is really all that we do. We still go to the Referal Center (RC) which isn't too bad. I just keep going through each day and that is all that I can do.

I love you all so much and thank you so much for all of your letters and all that you do for me. Yes I miss you and it is an adjustment but it will all be for the better. This is going to make things so much better for my life and I just have to take things as they come. I look forward to your letters. I love you all and I'll write you again next week.
Love,
Elder Colton

Friday's Food For Thought...

We may not know what lies ahead of us.

We know not what the coming days will bring.

We live in a world of uncertainty.

But one thing we do know.

Like the polar star in the heavens,

regardless of what the future holds,

there stands the Redeemer of the world,

the Son of God,

certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives.

He is the rock of our salvation,

our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith."

President Gordon B. Hinckley