Work, Work, No Results -- Email from 1/26/15

Hey!

I hope that your week was good. Life is moving [along] here. I have been learning a lot this last week, from a spiritual sense. I’m still bored out of my mind and don’t know how I am going to endure two years of this. But I have been learning a lot and focusing on perfecting my Spanish and staying positive. Still we have less here now than ever. What I think you guys don’t understand is that the lessons that we teach are not sit down good lessons. We count lessons if we talk to someone and teach a couple points and then leave a commitment like pray or read this pamphlet or book. So we teach a lot of those, and it is a rare occasion that we are able to sit down and actually teach a good lesson. Also, I really am not allowed to talk to people or investigators about much more than the church because it wastes a lot of time. So it’s not like I’m not connecting with people it’s like we don’t have anyone who wants to progress to be baptized in this area. We have a lot of people that we can teach, but none of them want to progress so it is a waste of time to teach them. We spend most of our time looking for new people here. This last week we didn’t find anyone worthy of mentioning, and we stopped working with all of the others because they aren’t progressing (coming to church and reading scriptures). So right now we have nobody who is progressing for a baptism in three weeks. 

If I was having success I would feel like I wasn’t wasting my time.  If people progressed, and were converted or even if we had a good investigator to teach [that would make it better]. Progressing is someone who does all of the commitments that we leave. Like if we invite someone to read there scriptures, pray, and attend church and there not doing it than there not progressing.  We don’t have anyone that has any real interest in progressing.  Nobody wants to hear our message.  More people want to talk to me in English than want to hear our message.  

This area is one of the hardest areas in the mission.  We didn’t have any success with Elder Hansen and he got really depressed in this area.  Elder Martinez is trying hard and is always positive, but he gets to go home in two weeks so I think he is looking forward to that more than anything.   I’m frustrated because I spend my days walking around a town in Argentina getting rejected all day, and I am going to be here until the 24 of March. So that’s why I’m frustrated.  I keep praying that we find someone but I haven’t received any answers to my prayers. Dad - you went to church, but I could be in Colorado and get you to church.  I came to Argentina to get others to church. 

I talked to the Mission President about this in my last interview. He said that if I can make it through this time in the mission I can make it through anything. He said his mission was still the hardest time in his life.   So, I have also learned that we only grow when we do things outside our comfort zone. 

I learned a lot this week about commandments. I learned that every commandment that we get is for our benefit. There isn’t a commandment that has been given that is bad for us. The second thing I learned is that when we keep the commandments we are showing are love for God. I like to read Matt 22:36-40 and then after that one read john 14:22. We learn from these scriptures that when we follow commandments we do it for our love for God, no more, no less. If we aren’t following the commandments than we really love sinning more than we love God. That’s what I learned this week.

Love you.

I got to Go! Hasta Proximo Lunes!

Matt

Pictures, Sunburn, and Robbery -- Email from 1/12/15

Hey,

So I uploaded the pictures to Facebook from my camera. So I wasn't breaking any rules or anything. We were Portos de Fruitos, which is like a huge tourist attraction here. They have all of the cool stuff that I want to buy why i am in Argentina. If I pull out money from my account it will be to go back there and buy some stuff. I'm going to get some stuff to remember Argentinian of. But I have time for that ha ha. I still have a ton of time to be here before i can think about coming home. You can write me and send a 20 or something because I want to make sure it gets through. If you want to put some more money in my account instead, that's alright too, its much faster and more reliable that way. I feel a little more comfortable with using that on a regular basis than the mail. 

How was your guys week? Are you guys tired of winter yet? Because I am tired of summer here. the top of my head keeps getting burnt every day ha ha. I'm done with the heat and the sun. I can't wait until I am back in Colorado with no humidity, and a normal amount of sun that wont burn me through my hair. It's kinda weird that Katie is about to start drivers ed. Its is even more weird that she will have her own car and be able to drive when I get home. And Emily is already 22? It feels like just yesterday she was turning 21. The truth is that time is flying by. I can't believe that Savannah is already on her way home. And I am almost six months in. If the mission keeps going by this fast then I am going to be home before anyone ever realized that I was gone. 

Were doing good here. Were not having a ton of success yet, but were working hard, and always working. We are trying everyday to get better and find more people. I'm a so tired every day when i lay down to go to bed. I don't think I have ever slept so easily in my entire life. We are trying to primarily work through the less actives here, and find people in their families that we can teach. We are teaching a lot and my Spanish is getting killer. Well its probably still bad, but I think its killer. Not really much is going on here. 

Yesterday I got robbed, but all he took was my watch so no harm there. We are fine. Some guy just stopped us and wanted all of our stuff. He got in Elder Martinez's face, and got in mine and I just laughed and gave him the watch and a couple pesos. We not allowed to fight because the area will get closed down. We wanted to but he said he had a gun (he didn't, so don't worry), so we just gave him what he wanted.  Not much I can really do about it haha. If he tried to hit one of us we would've stomped him --1 vs 2. I can mark that off my list now.  I might pull out some pesos to buy a new watch.

I'm sad to hear that the broncos and the eagles both aren't in the play offs, but its just because they are saving it for the year that i get back from the mission. The Phillies are going to be killer by the time i get back. Were going to be champs in every sport in the year 2016.  I hope everything is going good there. I'm sure they are. Keep your eyes peeled for a nice jeep or something. Parents come out here, but not a lot, and I don't think that you guys should. 

Love you all. 

Elder Matthew Jensen

it rains really hard every three days here

Gold Mining -- Email from 1/5/15

Hola mama.

I’m glad this week was good for you! It’s weird to think that we are already in 2015. It seems like time is flying. I like your goals. I’m going to evaluate them quarterly to see if you can do it. I know you can! Just sit down and make a plan and then stick to it. Try to go an entire year without drinking any diet coke. It’s healthier and will break the habit. I am glad that you have put some good goals. We put some goals here too. I want to have 20 Bautismos and a lot more by the time I have hit a year in the mission. It should be sick. I think that I will be able to do it easy. 

Did all of my friends get my letters? What did they think? Did you like the Alfajores? The Alfajores in white are good. The chocolate are okay. They have Dulce de leche in them which is kind of like caramel, but they don’t have it in the states – and its cool that Brother Walsh liked them.

This week here was really good. We didn’t get anyone to church but we are going to do a lot in this transfer. Elder Martinez is a beast.  He has a lot of energy all the time, and has no fear to be bold when talking to people. It’s really cool. My Spanish has already gotten a lot better after this week with him, and I am excited to see how good it will be by the time he heads home. He is super positive and super obedient, and I am learning a lot of how to teach people, and I’m getting very good at asking people direct questions with a purpose. It’s cool. I would have to say that elder Martinez is one of the best in the mission, and I am learning a ton from him everyday. 

We found a family of less actives this week that are going to be a gold mine. This guy, Brother Sanchez, has 14 kids, and 46 grand kids, and only like 6 are members. So we are going to be doing a lot of work with them to get more of them baptized and members. We are trying to get three people in church this week so that should be good. 

Everything is good here. I love Elder Martinez and this week has been the most fun in the mission. I also decided that if you guys want to get me a jeep instead of a Delorean so I can get up to the mountains I wouldn’t be disappointed. But it needs to be a soft top Jeep Wrangler!

Dad – Thanks for the updates. I hope Steve gets the job. Help mom with her goals! Give her encouragement and positive reinforcement when she isn't drinking diet coke or when she is exercising! It’s hard to achieve goals sometimes, and encouragement always helps. Katie needs to get her grades in order.  

I’m glad the family is good.  And it’s good to just take a step back, and relax. There’s really nothing that worth getting worked up about.

I think that [people in general] need to get motivated and have some drive to work and do something with their lives! The world isn’t going to give us anything.  Planning is essential. I will use a planner for the rest of my life thanks to the mission.  I have found is that deadlines make people work.  We get a call from our district leader every night and we have to say what we did that will help us reach our goal. It gets us very motivated to work for our goals. When I come back I’m going to try not to let my hobbies become my life.

Love you Guys

Elder Jensen