Planning for the Future -- Email from 22 September 2015

Hey,

This week was good. We brought seven people to the chapel: 4 recent converts, 2 investigators and a less active; so I would say that it was a pretty successful week. We found a couple of new investigators in the church too, so that was a blessing that we needed here. This week president did divisions with us and it was pretty good, and he was impressed by our work that we have done in our area. And also he wanted to meet the family of Laura. So that was pretty stellar. This week was a little hard for us to find new investigators, but I’m sure that this next week will go real good. 

When is Brother Johnson going to come here?  You have to let me know with heads up so that I can prepare things to send home for you all.  How is everyone?  I hope that you all are feeling better now.  I was a little under the weather too, but today we entered into spring! So it should start heating up again and I won’t have to worry so much about getting sick because it’s cold. 

To answer your question mom, I’m really not sure who I’m going to live with when I get back. Michael has asked me if I want to live with him and also Brandon asked me if I want to live with him. I’m pretty sure that I am headed to CSU again, but I’m not sure where I’m going to live yet. I’ve already told my friends that if I live with them that we will have a house that’s quiet without parties. I’m planning on focusing on my schoolwork and myself. Maybe I will end up living at home ha-ha. We will see what happens. Well I’m headed out!

Love you lots.

Elder Jensen

Looking for More to Teach -- Email from 14 September 2015

Well, this week was pretty good. The four kids were confirmed members of the church Sunday, so that was pretty sweet. Now we are working pretty hard to find more investigators that are going to progress. We are teaching the sister of our recent convert Nahir, and she is named Nicole. We are going to see if she progresses. We are teaching a couple of others too, trying to find more people to teach through our recent converts and the members. We know that there is another family that is waiting for us to find them, we just need to do it. Hopefully that everything goes well this week.

If you have time to pray for us, pray that we can recognize the promptings of the spirit to find the people that are prepared for us in this time!

Thanks to all. If you have any questions let me know. 

Elder Jensen

Miracles -- Email from 31 August 2015

Hey family! 

I hope that everything is going well for you all and that you are all doing well. I hope that school hasn’t hit you all too hard, and that work is going well to. This week was incredible. We saw a ton of miracles. I’m going to write you all a list of miracles that I saw this week showing how prepared the family of Laura was:

• We found her from a reference in the street. We arrived at her house in the pouring rain and she let us in and was really happy to see us. 
• In the first lesson she presented us to her nephew Nahir. Nahir was passing through a hard time and needed help from god. She lives with Laura as well. 
• In the second lesson, Laura told us that for ten years she has been praying for the true church and looked through the many churches and couldn’t find one that she likes. She told us that recently she changed her prayers asking God to send her angels and she claims that we are them. :) 
• When we presented the Book of Mormon she said "I knew the bible wasn’t enough. I always felt like we needed more than just the bible"
• In the third lesson she presented us her kids, who are 11 and 8 and asked if we could baptize them. 
• They went to church and loved it. They also are reading the Book of Mormon a ton. Laura is in 2nd Nephi. 
• She presented us her other nephew and sister in law. The other nephew is going to get baptized this Sunday. 
• She smoked for 20 years, and this last week she went from smoking 20 cigarettes every day to smoking 2 and is working hard to quit. 
• She has a testimony of Joseph smith and the resurrection. 
• She called her mom to invite her to go to the church in another part of Argentina. Her mom cried and told her that she is a member of the church and that she was baptized three years ago and that she was afraid to tell her daughter for fear of rejection. 
• We brought them to a baptism yesterday and Laura cried for like the entire time. 

Laura isn’t going to get baptized for a time because she is living together without being married, but this weekend we have the baptism of her two kids and two nephews. We also have transfers Tuesday. I hope with all of my heart that I can stay her and help them more, but I accept the decision of the lord if it’s my time to go to another part of the mission. If I go, it will be because I went up to zone leader, because I am training and they won’t change me unless I am going up. I have cried, laughed, comforted, taught, and learned from this family. I’m amazed with their faith and diligence. The kids want to serve missions, and Laura is inviting everyone to the church. She told me for the first time in her life she really is happy again. I came on the mission to find this family. I love this family and they have forever changed my life. We will see if I can stay here, or if I am headed out to another area next Tuesday.

Love you all!

Elder Jensen

A New Family Comes to Church -- Email from 24 August 2015

This week was incredible. We saw and witnessed a lot of miracles. We found a family that we brought to the Church and they are really prepared for us.  They are really cool. They call us angels and say that they have prayed for a long time for someone to help them find the truth. They aren't married yet, but we are going to baptize the 4 kids in the family while they are doing the paperwork to get married:) So in two weeks we should have a couple of baptisms! Here are two pictures of the family we found. The mom is named Laura and the dad is names David. The kids are Isaiah, Dilan, Kiara, and Nair!

Also the woman that was reading the Book of Mormon for a year went to church again and we had the opportunity to talk to her about that day.  Her name is Dayanira. She said that she desperately wanted to talk to us but was to shy and didn't have the guts. She said that she was thinking on the inside "Why don't they talk to me"!  I will send a picture of them both!   Here is a picture of Dayanira.
 
What Miracles! 

How are you all? How was your week?
If there are any questions comments or concerns let me know:) 

 

Elder Jensen

Listening to the Spirit -- Email from 17 August 2015

This week was really good! And it went by super fast. This week we taught 29 lessons with a member present and we also taught 23 without a member present. It was sweet!

But The coolest part of my week was Thursday when my companion and I were walking in the rain together. We saw a woman who was staring at us and I felt the impression to talk to her. But I didn't. We walked 25 feet and my companion said to me that we should turn around to talk with her. We turned around and started walking towards her until she lit up a cigarette. We then stopped and turned around again and kept walking. Then twenty more feet we got hit in the face with another impression and we turned around and went to talk with her. She accepted a baptismal date and we took her direction (address) and sadly it was in the area of the zone leaders. So we passed them the reference and then continued on our way.  The next day the leaders told us something incredible. That she found a Book of Mormon in a box of books over a year ago and then took it to her house and read it all. She was in the church bright and early this Sunday morning. It's an experience that I will never forget, and we almost lost it for not listening to the voice of the spirit! 

We also took a a tour of Buenos Aires today so that was pretty cool. Next Monday i will send pictures.

Elder Jensen

Baptism and 1 year out -- Email from 11 August 2015

This week was really good. Fernanda was baptized:) She was confirmed also:)! She was really happy and even cried a little during her baptism. This week she is headed to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. Hopefully she will be a leader in the church for life! It was really good. Katy and Lesli were not progressing this week. On Monday they talked to a preacher from another church and as a result now they have a lot of doubts about polygamy and stuff like that. Its alright haha, They will get baptized when its there time!

I cant believe that i am already a year into the mission. It has undoubtedly been the hardest/most difficult/ rewarding/happiest/saddest/exhilarating/wise year of my life. It really is the best thing that I have ever done with my life. Nothing beats the mission and nothing is harder than the mission either. I would council all of you that if you have the chance now, or later in life to go and serve with your spouses that you should do it, I have learned 1000 times more than i would have if I wasn't here. That being said, in a year I will be happy to give you all a huge hug! 

Have some pictures. of Fernanda and I, and of Elder Larry Brady and I. He is a matrimonio missionero that is going to give me a recommendation to get into the cia;) he worked for the state department for 50 years as head of foreign emergency affairs or something like that.  

 

Elder Jensen 

A New Companion from Brazil -- email from 3 August 2015

Hey mom and dad! 

Elder Moura and me.

To tell you the truth I can’t really believe it. We are already in august. Wow.  Sometimes it blows my mind to think that I have already been gone for almost a year. Well, this Sunday I will lack a year in the mission, so that’s pretty crazy. I’m doing good. My new companion is named Elder Moura! He is from Brazil also. I think that it’s a sign that heavenly father wants me to learn Portuguese –so, I’m going to try my hardest to learn it in the next three months. I’m going to try to keep flexing that muscle in my brain that learns languages so that I can keep learning and progressing! 

This week was good. We moved the baptism of Fernanda for this Saturday! I’m excited to see her get baptized. She is really going to be a great convert! Also, Katy and Lesli went to church again this week and they are going to get baptized this Sunday. It should be sweet. You all need to pray that they can get baptized this week! 

You all are putting Emily in my room?! No it’s quite alright haha I hope that she likes the crib. I heard that Katie is using all of my old clothes! You have to tell her to leave my sweatshirts alone haha. I’m doing a ton of exercises and I’m eating a ton here so that I can gain weight. I want to head home weighing like 185 and really muscular. So have been doing a lot of exercises and drinking a lot of chocolate milk.

Here’s a picture of my kid! 

Love you all!

Elder Jensen