Sounding a bit down this week -- Email from 23 Feb 2015

Hey mom and dad.

How are you doing? I hope that your week was good and that you had a good time. I'm glad that dad is staying busy and also that the quilting weekend was good. I'm missing Fort Collins a ton! 

This week was good. We have been working really hard and try to find people to help. We had 5 people in the chapel this Sunday so that is pretty cool. Nobody is progressing towards a baptismal date yet, but I have faith that somebody will soon. If not, its okay too. I have realized that i need to be more patient. 

As for me I'm doing okay. You guys should not worry about me, because I know that heavenly father has a plan for me and I am here for a reason.

I love you! 

Elder Jensen

The New Area -- Email from 16 Feb 2015

Hey all, 

Elder Flores, my new companion from columbia

This week I went to the villa in the intercity. It’s pretty different. A villa is like a ghetto but with house built on top of each other, and instead of roads there are narrow passageways one-person wide to arrive in the houses, which aren’t really houses but more like huts. All the people who live here are immigrants from Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. All the different ethnicities clash pretty hard. My first day a kid get shot in the knee cap. We were not very close up (a block) but still we booked it out of there. Yesterday a dog tried to bite me but I was defending myself with the book of Mormon and kicked it in the face. It ripped a hole in the book of Mormon. Safe to say that I’m not going to go down that passageway again. They aren’t going to do anything to us because we really don’t have anything to rob and they know that. If they shot down missionaries than the police would be all over them too. It’s safe for us just not for the people who live there. I heard that the night time is bad from a couple members.

This week I’m going to try and find a house of a member to take a picture of the villa. We don’t really have anyone that is progressing right now. We have people who come to church but the problem is that they work in the fair (there is a huge fair where everyone sells stuff in the streets of the villa every Sunday). The investigators come for the reunion sacramental and the leave afterwards to go and sell. So we can’t baptize anyone until they give up selling on Sunday, which nobody in the area is going to do.

Here are some pictures of the baptism of Marbella in Pacheco :)

 Love you all

Elder Jensen

My First Baptism and first Transfer -- Email from 10 Feb 2015

Marbela Rios at her baptism

Hey,
I don’t have much time so this is going to be short. Remember how we were working in the other area in Pacheco for the last week?  I connected well with one of the investigators there and she asked me to baptize her this last Sunday. It was really cool.  I will send pictures next week because I forgot the cord.  Her name is Marbela Rios. It was super cool – one of the coolest things ever.

Today I was transferred to Parque Avellaneda. It’s an area in capital. We have a villa in our area that is eight city blocks squared and we are going to work in that a lot. It’s a poorer area than my last one.  Houses are built on top of other houses and everyone is a foreigner. This area should be fun and I’m excited for this opportunity to work.  Our villa is called Villa Cildañez if you want to look it up.

Lau Llerena

My new companion is Elder Flores from Columbia. We get along well.  He is going to finish the mission in May.  He won’t finish as my companion because he already has 3 transfers in this area but that’s okay. He thinks I am going to train the next transfer here.  Hopefully not for while but he told me he thinks I am ready.  Yeah my Spanish is coming along well.

I don’t have more time but will send pictures next week. Please get on my Facebook and add some friends for me.

Gracias!  Les Amo!

Elder Jensen