My Sweet Leopard Shirt... Email from 21 March 2016

Hey.

This week was sweet. We worked hard, and are working with a couple people that arrived at the chapel this Sunday. If we have some luck we will have a baptism this next week. I’m trying to work harder to not just baptize but also retain. I want to have a lot of converts here that are active the entire life. The retention is really bad here in Argentina, maybe 10 percent of my converts are 100 percent active in the church and I decided that I want to make that a lot better my last stretch of the mission. I will do what I can and then leave the rest in the hands of the lord. I am on the lookout for people that want to change their lives and stay converted forever haha. I’m enjoying it here. I hope that I can keep up the good work hehehe. 

 

Well, my knee is a lot better. My stomach is good. We are doing diet right now, and I have a six pack. This last week I bought bunch of clothes with the money I pulled out a couple weeks ago. A member also made me a sweet shirt with leopard print. I either look really incredibly good with that shirt on or I look gay. Give me your opinion hahaha. Here are some pictures. Love you all. I hope everything is going well with registering for my classes and the apartment and the jeep haha. See you in 20 weeks!

Love you

Elder Jensen

It's a Small World -- Email from 14 March 2016

This is a letter from Matt to Elliott Leonard....

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It’s such a small world!  Hey I wanted you to know that I saw you this week. I was visiting a family in our area and I looked a picture on the wall and you were there!!!! After that I talked to the son who just got back from your mission. The Ex Elder Mendoza! HOW CRAZY RIGHT?!!!!!!

Love you man. Have some pictures. 

Chacabuco week 4 -- Email from 14 March 2016

.Hey all.

I hope that your week in the mountains is great! I hope that everything's going well for you all. It sounds so nice to relax in the hot springs! Bueno, this week was great. We had two baptisms. I already sent you all pictures of the villa and the baptisms.

I eat a lot in this area. I'm going to try to not get fat here. My knee feels a lot better. I want to learn to translate Spanish and I'm not too worried about the other classes. Sign up for what I need to take. 

 

Thanks for everything.

Elder Jensen

 

 

Some pictures:  La villa in the night. There are like five floors, but I was only on the first.

Leandro Baptized....email from 7 March 2016

Hey family! 

I hope that this week was really good! I’m glad for the pictures that you all sent to me. It looked really nice the wedding! I was surprised at how big everyone looks. When I look in the mirror I feel like I haven’t changed that much haha. I feel like I look the same as I looked when I came her on the mission. Maybe that’s not the case and I just can’t see the change in myself that much, but I sure can see the change in everyone from the pictures. I’m so surprised. I’m glad that the party was fun and that it was safe. I hope that you all have a good rest day today.

So here, Leandro was baptized. :) It was really cool. He is going to get married to his girlfriend Martina and then I hope they get sealed in a year! This next week we have two more baptisms :) They are named Nadia and Justina. They are a mom and daughter and they are really the best. They are so nice and kind and Justina is like a mom to us haha. She took my shoes to be sowed up because the seams ripped out this week! They give us so much food and are really excited for their baptism this week. We are pumped to keep trying to help them so that they can get baptized! I couldn’t take picture here because it’s really dangerous. They sell drugs in lines in the streets and some of the gangs get mad at us and yell at us haha. I have learned that the best thing to do is look down at the ground, keep walking and don’t heed them. If I stop there are going to shoot me for sure. If I take pictures they are going to think I am from the police and I’m done for haha. So that’s why I don’t have pictures haha. 

 

Dad, did you have a chance to talk to those people so that you can register me for my classes? I know it’s a long ways away but the time is going by really fast!  Mom, continue with my sweatshirt. I’m sure it’s going to be really cool! 

This week I hurt my knee playing football. I’m going to head to the doctors this next week. I hope that it’s not too serious. It hurts to climb stairs and sometimes when I walk I feel like the knee cap doesn’t fall into place. It’s a little worrying. I hope it’s not serious. I bought a knee brace and the last week I have been walking really straight, I’m not trying to bend it at all. It kills me when I have to squat down. My body is falling apart haha:  my knee and my shoulder now haha. 

Love you all.

Elder Jensen

Chacabuco -- Week 2. Email from 29 February 2016

Hey all,

This week was really great. I got to my area, and I was really excited to work. My companion and I get along really great, and it’s going to be a good transfer. I’m sure that it’s going to be a fast transfer as well. I hope that everything goes well with the zone. This week Elder Culebro, my companion, and I focused on finding more people, and getting the entire zone excited to find more people and keep baptizing. When I got here our area didn’t have anyone that was progressing towards a baptismal date. We worked really hard this week, and tried to do everything that we could to fix more baptisms, and god blessed us because we were able to find 4 people that went to the church and that are progressing towards a baptismal date. We should have a baptism this week, and for that we are really excited. The zone is composed of 12 companions, 2 sets of sister missionaries and 10 of elders. The zone last week had 10 investigators that were progressing, and this Sunday we were able to raise the number of investigators progressing to 18 as a zone. We are hoping to raise it even more, and a number that’s ideal would be more than 30 investigators that are progressing to a baptismal date. 

WOW! I can’t believe that Katie is already 16 years old. That’s so crazy. The time really passes by fast. She looks all grown up already! I can’t believe that she’s already a young woman. When I left she was a little girl and now she’s all grown up. WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE TIME? I’m a little more than 5 months out from ending the mission. I hope that I can finish in this area. I hope that you all have an incredible week and that you are doing lots of great things this week. We had the opportunity to listen to Elder Bednar in person this Wednesday and it was something really cool. He talked a lot about being agents or objects. Objects are acted upon, and agents act upon other things. To be an agent we need to have the faith (confidence) that our heavenly father wants to bless us always. 

As far as the living situation goes I’m happy with what you all choose. I hope that you can find something relatively close to the campus. I would like to ride a bike to campus if I can. If not I could use bus or my car. How is the look for a jeep going? I hope that you all are doing great, and I love you all lots. 

Elder Jensen

New Area -- email from 23 February 2016

This week was good.  I was sick as a dog this Friday to this Sunday.  I was dying, throwing up a ton Friday in the night.  I am starting to feel better now.  I have been highly medicated and trying to keep getting better.  Also, I had to say goodbye to a lot of converts sick haha it was a fun experience.  I love Patricia and Brenda and I hope that we can keep in touch with them.  They are going to take me to the airport when I am ready to get out of here, so I will be able to see them again. 

Then I got a call that I am headed to the Villa 1-11-14 or la Villa Chacabuco.  It’s the biggest villa in the entire mission and it has been my dream to go there.  I’m pretty pumped.  Hey there is a problem with emails so you need to tell me if you have received this or not.   If you haven’t received this call the office of the mission and they can change it.  I hope that you all get this. 

Love you all

Elder Jensen

Post Script

It is time to update the map.   Here is where Matt has been...

1. Pacheco
2. Avellaneda
3. La Boca
4. Vucetich
5. and now Villa 1-11-14 (or Villa Chacabuco)