November 18, 2013

Dear mom, 

In Gainesville, one of the zone leaders, Elder Bishop, said one time to me after I had just received the second call to train: "Sister Jensen, you're going to be training the rest of your mission!" I took this as a joke. Now, I don't think it's that funny! Sister Johnson is now in her last week of training! WOOOHOOO! So this Sunday, President and Sister Craig made it up to this little train town of Waycross Georgia. They spoke in sacrament meeting about member missionary work. Could you have guessed it? They did a great job and brought a wonderful spirit to the meeting. I was already a little down thinking about Shanna and the kids not being at church. She knows what a commitment baptism is to make. After sacrament meeting, President Craig told Sister Johnson and I that he wanted to talk to the both of us. We entered the bishop's office to talk with him. He talked with us about how we were doing and told us of the great job we are doing here in Waycross. He then said, "but unfortunately, you two will be split up because you both will be training this next transfer". If I was lying, I would tell you that in my mind I thought "Oh yay! I get to train AGAIN!" but it was more like, "AGAIN?!" Obviously, we accepted the call. I guess I just wasn't really expecting the call to train this next transfer. Sometimes God has different plans, however. When we went home, I was a bit heavy with this news. I just knelt by my bed and may or may not have shed a few tears and said, "Heavenly Father, I don't know if I can train again". It was just one of those pitty parties I guess. It will be good though. I've been grateful for the two wonderful trainees that I've been able to train so far. I feel I've learned so much more from them than I ever could have taught them. Missions are a humbling experience for sure. There's no growth in the comfort zone. So to answer your question mom, it looks like I will be transferred. President Craig didn't necessarily state that, but that seems to be what happens the majority of the time. The senior companion leaves, especially when the other companion just got out of training. I have loved being in Waycross and loved getting to know such wonderful people. One thing that I love about the people here is their pace of life. Everyone is laid back. They're not in a rush if you want to talk with them. They take the time. They also give when they don't always have much to give. I've learned so many different things from Gainesville to Waycross. In Gainesville, there were some really educated, well-off people and in Waycross, it's quite the opposite. But the amount of money you have in your bank account or the type of car you own, does not contribute to the happiness in your life. 

This last week we had zone conference in Jacksonville. There were some fantastic trainings done by President Craig and the A.P's. Our red Toyota corolla that Sister Johnson and I were driving had over sixty thousand miles on it, so we were informed that we would be getting a new one. Last p-day, Sister Johnson and I made sure to clean it up really well with some wipes and everything. It was probably one of the older cars lined up for inspections, but we were surprised to be announced as the winners of the "cleanest cars". We were awarded with a bag of pretzel m&ms. :) I think it was easy for them to pick ours since we took everything out of it to trade it in... but... we weren't complaining and took the prize anyway. The A.P.s drove our new car to zone conference for us-- a 2014 red Toyota corolla. It even has a backing screen. ;) We felt pretty spoiled. We went to grab the new car keys from Elder Tuft (one of the AP's) and he was asking us how Waycross was and asking about our investigators. He gave us some helpful ideas for Shanna. These Elders are just amazing! There are some really great missionaries who are going to make really great fathers some day. 

I guess we'll have to wait and see where I'll be heading next! note: p-day will be next Tuesdaydue to that. Something exciting that happened this last week... we were knocking some doors a couple weeks ago and started talking to a man who was curious about the Book of Mormon. He has a Jehovah witness background. We set up a time where we could bring him a Book of Mormon and share more from it. We went back at the time he agreed to and he wasn't home. We left a sticky note giving him our number and told us to call us back so that we could bring the Book of Mormon. He called us back the other day during personal study. He said that we didn't end up needing to bring by a Book of Mormon because he had just gone a head and downloaded it on his kindle and had been reading from it. He said: "how do you say it, Neffeee.. Lemin... Lemewl?" In my mind I was thinking, "YEEESS!!! He's been reading!!" He talked about how interesting the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses were. Wow! I just felt the spirit as he was speaking about the Book of Mormon to me over the phone. I bore a short testimony of my conviction of it. We invited him to church, but his wife was unfortunately sick that day. I'm excited to see where this goes! The gospel is true!

All my love, 

Sister Jensen 

November 11, 2013

Dear Mother, 

I can hardly believe how the weeks fly by as a missionary. Sister Johnson and I couldn't help but notice all of the Christmas decorations in Wal-Mart as we did our grocery shopping today. Occasionally, during the day,  I'll just stop and think to myself: "I wonder what my family is up to right now." :) It sounds like everything is going well as normal at home though. It's amazing how quickly things can be turned from going really well to going terribly wrong however. For example, there's a part member family in the other Waycross ward and the wife drove in front of a train this last week and is now in critical care in Jacksonville. She broke an ankle, wrist, ribs, back, and neck. There are so many trains here in Waycross, you just have to be really careful. 

Shanna (investigator progressing to baptism) has had a terrible last few weeks. After we talked to her about baptism, it seems like everything has been thrown in her direction to stop her. We talked about the 23rd of November for her baptism, but her son Tyson is eight and Emma and Isabel are turning eight the beginning of December. The baptism date may change to December so the whole family can be baptized on the same day. I think that would be really special. I hope I will be here and not get transferred, but wherever the Lord needs me I'll go. So pray for Shanna and her ex-husband, Loren, to allow the kids to get baptized if you will :) In the last couple weeks Shanna's dog got hit and killed by a car, her mom's room mate had a heart attack, her credit card identity got stolen and someone wiped her account, and then she got a fever before church and couldn't come. The joys of preparing someone for baptism!! 

I don't know if I've talked about this before but our mission president has asked all of the missionaries to set aside one hour during our "prime-pros" time (5pm-9pm)  to leave our cars and go out and just work hard to find people to teach. Sometimes it is really hard to get a good golden hour in when it gets dark outside. It seems that most people go to bed around eight around here, or so they say. Anyway, this week during one of our golden hours we were walking in an area, out in the country. There were houses pretty close together in this certain area so we decided to do our work there. When it gets really dark, we look for places with the most lights on to knock. This particular trailer looked pretty lit up so we went up and started talking to the man of the house. After a while of talking he had mentioned how he had been to the Mormon church for two or three weeks in a row one time, but he affiliates himself with the Baptist church. His girlfriend said that her foster parents are Mormon and her foster dad is the branch president in Alma (city close to Waycross). They invited us in and we shared the message of the restoration with them. As we taught it was clear that Johnny was feeling the spirit. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted (Tish said that she has been baptized). We left them with a chapter to read and that night he texted us saying that he read it. They weren't able to come to church this Sunday, but we hope to help them progress toward baptism. The spirit is truly the teacher as a missionary. One of my favorite parts of being a missionary is feeling completely led by the spirit to teach. Sometimes it comes easier than other times, but I continue to work to always teach by it. 

Oh! Mom, the package came! I laugh every time I look at it thinking of me carrying that big thing around if I get transferred ;) And, yes, transfers are still the day before thanksgiving from what I've heard. Sister Johnson and I work out in our apartment, or (what I like most) Sister Johnson and I will go outside and I'll jump rope (smart thing to bring!) or do some sprints back and forth in front of our place. There are CD players in the car and a DVD player in the apartment that I can play music on. I hope that answers your questions! 

Love you tons! 

Sister Jensen

November 4, 2013

Hello Everyone, :) 

This week we had the chance to go to Jacksonville. Elder Zwick, one of the seventy, did a devotional on Wednesday night to local bishops and ward counsel(?) members. On Thursdaywe had a multi-zone conference. All of it was just incredible. The conference on Wednesdaywas about members sharing the gospel and helping the missionaries find to teach. He had so many incredible experiences that he shared. He told of Gordon B. Hinckley in the Salt Lake City temple with the brethren. He opened up the scriptures and turned to some versus in Mormon 6. Elder Zwick read the versus. He said the prophet opened the scriptures almost as if they fell open to the page. He remembers the prophet getting chocked up as he read it and he looked across the room to see Elder Packer with a tear running down his cheek as the prophet read: "O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!" They soon started Preach My Gospel. Elder Zwick talked about President Monson's words in conference: "now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord's vineyard to bring souls unto Him." He said that the prophet doesn't have someone to write his script and that he knows that those words were chosen very prayerfully and specifically. Now is the time. He said that doesn't mean in a month or a year, but now. He had all of the bishops stand up who were present and had someone pass around the microphone. He asked a few questions to individual bishops. He asked one of the bishops why it was so important to share the gospel now. The bishop went on about why he felt now was such an important time. Elder Zwick then asked him "when was the last time you had missionaries in your home to teach someone you had invited". The bishop said it had been a while. Elder Zwick wasn't doing this in a belittling way, but made a huge point. At the end of his talk, he said, by a raise of hands, how many of you believe you can have someone in your home for the missionaries to teach in ten days? There were some hands that went up, but not all of them. He said, "If President Monson were in the room, there would be a very different response". Elder Zwick said that not only is the Lord counting on us, but so is the prophet. My dear mother, father, brother, sister, cousin, friend, and whomever else is reading this, If you are not making a diligent effort to share the gospel, you will be held accountable. I know it is hard, but it is our duty. I was thinking about the fact that I was born under the covenant and experienced the joys of the gospel from the moment I entered into this world. I asked myself this morning why. The spirit taught me something in that moment. Because God trusts me, and every single one of you, to share it. I think the hardest thing about sharing the gospel with my dear friends is realizing the eternal significance that it will have for them by accepting the gospel. And I don't want to mess that up. This is Satin. Just like in the game of soccer, we miss every single goal that we do not shoot. Pray for the courage to open your mouth. Miracles WILL and DO happen. I just want each and everyone of you to know that I have a deep testimony of this gospel. I know it is true and the only way back to our Heavenly Father. We must live the gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. We cannot settle for mediocrity. Read your scriptures daily and pray morning and night. Now is not the time to slack off. My intent is not to preach to everybody, but I feel this so deeply that I feel compelled to share my feelings and thoughts. I am very imperfect. I do not profess in any regard to be perfect. I have many, many weaknesses. I know, however that I need to do my very best to follow Jesus Christ. When the time comes for me to stand before the judgement seat and see my Savior before me, I want to know that I gave it my very all. I love all of you and pray for you often to have the courage to share. In this I humbly testify. 

Sister Jensen 

Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.  -President Monson

October 28, 2013

My dear Mother (and whomever else gets this email forwarded to ;) ), 

My heart just gets sooo happy when I get to read your emails Mom. :) I just love you! You're wonderful. Trick or treating is quite different here than in Utah. Nobody really goes out trick or treating as far as I've heard because it's not really safe. On Halloween our ward and the first ward are doing what most churches around here do: a fall festival. I'm kind of excited for that ;) The fall festival is really just a trunk or treat with different games, food, etc. We are in charge of the fishing pond. There is going to be a big conference for our zone and a few others in Jacksonville on Wednesday evening and then on Thursday morning. We have been told we will stay the night at two sisters' apartment (Sister Major is one of them and she trained Sister Toledo). She's my "grandmother" in mission terms. Anyway, we'll have to go straight to the fall festival after driving home from Jacksonville. 

This week Sister Johnson and I got to go on exchanges again with Sister Ashcraft and Scott. This time Sister Scott was with Sister Johnson in Waycross and I went to Brunswick with Sister Ashcraft. I always love seeing how different missionaries do things and learn from their talents. Sister Ashcraft is just the most loving, sweet, patient person ever. Something fun that she had thought of or heard of for a finding activity was to do a car wash at the church and then do church tours. I was a little skeptical at first because there were hardly members there due to another event going on at that time. I was worried that it needed to be advertised a bit more. However, to my surprise it turned out exceptionally well!! There really didn't need to be much advertisement. Two sets of elders were also washing cars and then some ward members held "free car wash" signs by the busy road in front of the church. Sister Ashcraft and I kind of assumed we would be washing cars so I was in basketball shorts, a tshirt and crocs ;) Next thing you know, the Elders are telling people we would give them a tour of the building. :) Wow! What a great chance it was to invite people in and talk about the church in a non-threatening way! Almost every single person agreed to go on a little tour with us as their car was being washed and vacuumed. We first stopped in the primary room and talked a little bit about what the kids are taught (I am a child of God, etc). We would point to the different paintings of the Savior on the walls and briefly go over the bible story that it depicted and then we would show them the family history center and talk about family history. And then to my favorite part: the first vision painting where we basically taught the whole restoration. As I told of Joseph Smith's experience to a small group of people the sweet spirit that so often accompanies the telling of the event filled the hall. I could see in each of them that they felt the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. It was so neat to hear the "peace" that each one of them felt as they toured the building. At the end of the tour, Sister Ashcraft asked if people would be willing to learn more and several individuals gave her their number. 

One of the Elders' investigators, Greg, came to get his car washed. He has been to church a couple times so we showed him several rooms (like the primary room). We also showed him the baptismal font. The spirit was strong. He told of his experience in the several churches that he has attended. He said when he was five, he remembers being terrified to go to church. He remembers the preacher yelling and talking about hell. He said every time he is in our building he just feels peace. Everyone is happy. (Mosiah 2:41) He said that he decided a long time ago that he would be open-minded and not throw something off just because he was taught differently. It was so neat to hear his testimony and the truths that he has been learning. I can just feel that he is going to be baptized. He will be such an amazing man in the church. 

I'll try to keep this brief. But I just wanted to add something about a couple of ward members, Sister Taft and Brother Taft. Sister Taft is preparing to go to the temple next month and it makes me so happy for her. She wants to be as prepared as possible. She is reading every day in the scriptures and in preach my gospel and basically everything that she can get her hands on. Her husband hasn't been to church in years. Sister Johnson and I were talking to the both of them the other day and then Brother Taft had to leave. Sister Taft was just expressing how she wishes he would come to church with her and could come to the temple also. I asked her if she prays for him. She said she does often. I asked her if they pray together. She said she doesn't think that he would do that. I told her to invite him every night to join her for her nightly prayers. If he says no, then that's okay, but to invite him every single night. On Sunday she was so excited to tell us that he knelt with her every night as she prayed. We got to meet with them again Sunday evening. I have high hopes for Brother Taft. For those whose hearts break for close loved ones who do not share the same feelings of love toward the gospel as us, my suggestion is to hold on there a little longer. Love them unceasingly. Sometimes the best way to teach is to simply listen. Their time will come. I want to express my deepest love to those who haven't been to church in a while and may have harsh feelings about the church or some of the people in it. I want every person to know that I know that we are not just another church on a corner, but the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. If nobody else has done so, I want to invite you back. "We do not preach and teach in order to 'bring people into the Church' or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach to persuade people to live better lives.... We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this." -Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Endure to the end my friends and family! May God continue to watch over you and bless you in everything you do!

Much love, 

Sister Jensen 

p.s. Tom and Barbara King family, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE POST CARD FROM ST GEORGE!! It made my day to get that in the mail. :) :) 

October 21, 2013

Dear Mother, family and whoever else is reading this, ;) 

I can't believe that Candice and Thomas had their two year wedding anniversary! Congratulations to them! They are such a great couple! It sounds like they are both continuing to do fantastic things! I can't wait to hear where Katelyn and Mitch decide to go for medical school. Sam, I'm so excited for you to get ready to go on a mission. It will be exciting to know where you are assigned to serve. :) 

What a joy this week was to have Shanna and her sweet family come to church! We didn't get much of a chance to talk to her afterward to see how she felt about it, but it was so great to have her there. I know it was something that was a big step for her. She isn't one to be the center of attention, so I was so grateful that she came. She came with the Browns and sat by them the whole time. Church is always a different experience when you have an investigator there. I always hope that the members will reach out and say hello or not say something too crazy ;) I remember in Gainesville when one of our investigators came to church for the first time. Of course it was fast and testimony meeting. I was on pins and needles sitting through it. One of the members who was baptized only a few years back was going off about things that.... let's just say, shouldn't have been discussed over the pulpit. Thankfully the bishop stood up at the end and clarified some of the church's stance on a few topics. ;) Thankfully Shanna's first Sunday wasn't quite as colorful as that one. ;)

It seems like I've been hit with a little bug this week. On Friday, I wasn't feeling very well and so we had to stay in for part of the day. I'm still stuffed up and sometimes wake up to a soar throat, but I'm getting better. 

The members are really great here and we have been having some lessons with some of the families in the ward to help give them ideas of how they can share the gospel. One of the families that we invited to do this set a goal of how many invitations they will do in two weeks. The dad was able to invite someone from his work to have dinner with us sister missionaries. She agreed and even told him to remind her when they would be doing that before they left from work! Wow! That made me so thrilled when the member's told us that! 

Well, my computer time has been cut kind of short today, so I apologize I wasn't able to add too much detail. But I just want everyone to know how much I love you! Thank you for all of your support and prayers! I couldn't imagine going on a mission without so much support from great family and friends!

Much love, 

Sister Jensen 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Dear Mom and family, 

Last night (monday) were transfer calls. Due to so many missionaries in the mission, they wanted to limit how many phones were calling in. Apparently there can only be one hundred phones per call, so we drove to the other sister's place last night (they live in Blackshear). Both sisters in the other ward already received a training call and Sister Divis (the senior companion) knew that she would be leaving. Guess where she's going? Gainesville! Not my old ward, but she will be in the YSA ward. I know some people she'll be working with, so it was fun being able to talk to her about that. Sister Johnson and I will be staying in Waycross, as I expected. President Craig was saying that the brethren are wanting to keep missionaries in areas for six to nine months.  We'll see how long I stay here in Waycross. 

This week we were really hoping to get our investigator Shanna to church. I know it is really out of her comfort zone to go to a church where she hardly knows anyone. She has three kids: one is eight (Tyson), seven (Emma), and seven..?(Isabel). They are so cute. We gave her a church tour on Saturday to help her feel more comfortable about coming. It went really well and all three of the kids came. They were so excited to come to church the next day. We walked them around and showed them where their different classes would be. We stopped in the primary room and let the kids look around for a little bit. When we walked outside of the primary room there were two bulletin boards with pictures of all the primary kids in the two wards. Each of the bulletin boards said, "I am a child of God". Emma looked at all of the pictures and said, "I want my picture up there too." I could feel our Heavenly Father's love for sweet Emma. I thought, "me too Emma, me too." We finished the tour and walked them out to their car. Emma and Isabel gave us these huge hugs and wouldn't let go. We told them that we would see them the next day for church and we went our separate ways. Sunday morning came and we waited for them to come. We sent Shanna a text to make sure everything was okay and to see if she would still be able to make it. She texted us back and said she was in a panic. She had accidentally switched her alarm clock to the pm and not the am setting. Hopefully everything will run smoothly for next week and we can get them to church. 

It's interesting to see the difference that people see in you as a missionary--but really just any member keeping the commandments. There was a man that Sister Johnson and i walked up to the other day who was with his toddler son outside. His name is Charlie. He started asking us a few questions like why we were serving missions. We both bore short testimonies of why we decided to serve missions. He just stopped and looked at us. He said, "Wow. Most people that I would ask that to would hesitate or not know what to say. I'm just really impressed with the way you answered that." It made me think of Elder Christoffersen's (I think?) talk in conference. We need to have a reason for why we do certain things or keep the commandments. He then started asking us about the word of wisdom. We told him of all the things that we don't drink or do. Charlie: "Coffee!?? and TEA??! Don't you know you're in the south!?" ;) We then explained to him why we don't drink those things. We talked about being more spiritually in tune to promptings of the spirit and being obedient to God's commandments. He talked about how much sense that made. He said he had just started drinking coffee again after some time and noticed a difference. He said he always thought it was just him feeling healthier, but realized now why. He started asking us question after question after question. He couldn't get enough. He wondered where he could get one of "those books" ;) and we gave him a Book of Mormon and set up another date to meet with him. When we keep the commandments, I know how blessed we are. They're not restraints as so many think of them. 

I love you all and hope that your weeks go so well! Read your scriptures every day. If I could look back on anything I did before my mission that prepared me most it would be that. Gain a deep love for the scriptures. It doesn't matter where you're at in your life. I feel like I can invite and expect people to read their scriptures every day because I have done that. Pray every day and ask Heavenly Father to help you bring someone closer to their savior (just like was told in conference!). May God bless you and let others see the difference in you from keeping the commandments! 

Much love, 

Sister Jensen :)

Welcome to Georgia! Cotton fields.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Dear Family

It was so great to get to listen to conference the last few days. Many members watch conference at home, but we came to the church to watch it broadcast. Mom, you and I think alike because one of my favorite talks was also President Uchtdorf's during the Saturday session. I really loved that. I really loved all of them though. It was a weekend full of the spirit, that's for sure.

So Lucy and Marvin were kicked out of their home this last week and moved to Blacksheer, which is in the other ward's area so we are going to refer them to the other Sisters. I just wanted to update you on them. But this week we were able to have a really great lesson with one of our investigators named Shanna. Sister Brown, in our ward, let us have the lesson in her home. 

Sister Brown has a son named Ezra. One day Sister Johnson and I were driving and saw a few neighborhood boys playing outside their houses (one of the them being Ezra) so we rolled down our window to say hello. Ezra's friend told us that his mom was looking for a church. We parked the car and walked back from the area we were just in. We knocked on the door and Shanna came and opened it. We had just passed her right before we talked to the boys, smiled and waved (that's the unfortunate thing about driving a car). We told her how her son told us that she was looking for a church. She was a little surprised, but started talking to us. At one moment she just started choking up. I didn't really even know what to say. It was just really clear that she was going through a really hard time in her life. 

Anyway, this last Saturday evening we were able to have a lesson with her in Sister Brown's home. To have a lesson in a member's home really is much more spiritual than just going to the investigator's. There is more power when missionaries and members work together. Shanna had asked us the lesson before what our idea of heaven and hell were. She told us how a dear friend of hers had told her that she would be going to hell if she didn't really come to know Jesus Christ. This troubled Shanna a lot. We shared the message of the plan of salvation. The spirit was very strong as we all were able to testify and teach. We talked about how important our decisions are here on earth because they determine our life here after. Sister Brown talked about going through trials and how God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle. We finished talking about the kingdoms of glory and then Shanna put her hands to her face and started to choke up again. Sister Brown rubbed her back to try and comfort her. After a little while of just sitting there, she said, "I have a confession. You said that God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle... I don't believe that..... My brother committed suicide when he was 18."  I finally realized the magnitude of her concern about heaven and hell from the last lesson. I don't believe Shanna was troubled of the idea of her going to hell right then, but was deeply troubled about her brother being there. We were able to talk to her about Jesus Christ's infinite atonement and how he is the perfect judge of us all. She felt comforted by the idea of three degrees of glory. We were able to talk a little bit about temples and temple work for those who have passed on. The next day she joined Sister Brown to listen to the two sessions of conference. 

I am so grateful for the hope and truthfulness of this gospel. God has a perfect plan for us. We must do our part, however. If we do our very best and keep our covenants that we made at baptism, everything will work out for our good. Pray for Shanna that she will have the courage and faith to come to church. It is a really big step for her. She said something in the lesson that really struck me. She just said, "I just remember feeling like there has to be something more." I can testify to you that there are people looking for that something more, but like it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, they do not know where to find it. Pray sincerely for opportunities to share the gospel, to love deeper, and to help more people experience the blessings that are awaiting them. Jesus Christ has already paid the price for them to enjoy these blessings now. So many of us have been blessed to have the gospel in our lives from the time we were born. What are we doing to repay him? How can we try harder to be a little better? We as missionaries can only do so much. I feel so deeply that we cannot reach nearly as many people if we as missionaries and members don't work together, with everything we have. These are the last days. The Savior lives and loves each and every one of us. Let us show our love for him by reaching out to his children in love. 

May God bless, 

Sister Jensen

September 30th, 2013

Well hello there!! :) 

It sounds like ya'll have been having quite the happening week! :) It sure is fun to hear all of the adventures that are happening. Tell the Rhotons congratulations with all of the family names they've been doing! That is very impressive! So... question: they can trace the family names back to Adam and Eve?! Wouldn't that disprove the whole evolution idea? That's amazing though! And to answer your question about Facebook, I have to drive to the church every day and use the computers in the family history center. It usually takes about thirty minutes out of our day just to drive so sometimes it feels like a hassle to have to get it done at the church. I don't have quite the luxury as I did in Gainesville to have computers at the office in our apartment complex, at the library across the street, or at the church building that was five minutes away. Either way, we are blessed to have this privilege to share the gospel with those online. So for all of those who have added me on facebook, just know that I can't talk or message you, but I love you very much and can be friends with you! :)  Feel free to comment or like any posts that you enjoy! :) I haven't really had the chance to have any lessons on facebook yet, but hopefully I will be able to do that here soon. 

What a wonderful spirit that was felt at the Relief Society broadcast this last Saturday. I just love being able to hear from the leaders of the church! They are so inspired in every word they say and their countenances just radiate the savior. I thought of my sweet sisters and mother as I watched it in our ward building. I just was imagining it. We had a dinner beforehand that was put on by the priesthood. Sister Johnson and I laughed when we heard what was on the menu... Spaghetti. We had spaghetti at least three times this week and have lots of spaghetti left over in our fridge! But! It was still really great! *side note* The YW and YM invited the missionaries for dinner on Tuesday night. The mission president has made it clear that he doesn't want elders and sisters having a dinner appointment in the same home, but he was okay with us having a dinner for an activity like this. Well, we arrived to the church on Tuesday and figured many of the young women and men would be sitting down ready for dinner. Instead, there was a circular table with four place mats, a nice center piece and salad. It was the scene of a date if I've ever seen one. They came out and served us spaghetti and drinks. And then they all just watched us eat. Let's just say It was a little awkward. ;) It was nice of them to think to feed us though. 

Oh, I just have to add that four months from yesterday I entered the MTC. Can you believe it? I've been a missionary for four whole months!? That's crazy. I honestly feel that you can't know what a mission is like until you've experienced it. There really aren't words to describe it. It's wonderful though. There are constant battles within yourself to be better and be more effective. There's always room for improvement. But isn't that what this life's all about? Improvement. Our goal is to be perfected even as Christ is perfect. What a great goal we are all working toward. I love what one of the speakers in the Relief Society Broadcast said though. We shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. What really matters at the end of this life is if we have kept our covenants. When we focus on our covenants and realize the importance of them, we will become perfect as Christ is. Isn't that amazing? God has the plan all worked out for us. We just have to do our little part and Christ will help us finish the rest. 

This week has gone pretty well. We are able to get a lot of new investigators but it has been challenging to help them keep appointments or keep commitments. I just want to sit them down and be like, "THIS IS THE GREATEST MESSAGE YOU WILL EVER LISTEN TO!" Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but you get the idea. I am sure that God feels the same way about us. Something like, "do you realize how important general conference is?!" "do you realize that these are literal prophets, seers, and revelators!!?? or "do you realize that your stake president or bishop or local church leaders are called of God specifically chosen for you!?" I can't imagine His frustration with all of us at times. It just makes me realize how I need to be doing the things that I have been asked to do. I am grateful for all of the investigators that we are working with though. I pray that I can help them see the gospel's importance. We're not just another church, but the way to return to our Heavenly Father. 

Love you all and I pray for your success in work and school and life!! 

God bless!! Muah! 

Sister Jensen 

xoxoxo 

Sleep Talking of a Sister Missionary- September 16, 2013

"My poor companions get to deal with this sister's sleep talking habits. According to Sister Johnson some of the latest talks have comprised of "the Lord is soooooo wonderful!!" and me teaching lessons. At least I'm in the mindset of missionary work, right?! Hopefully she will be able to sleep with all of my sleep talking ;).

It's so great to hear from everyone!! What wonderful thoughts everyone gives! Thank you for all of your words! I love all of you! Every night I just think to myself how truly blessed and lucky I am to have such wonderful family and friends! *side note* I cannot believe that Courtney is coming home this next week!! (okay, actually I can, but still!!)  

This week has gone really well. The ward is so welcoming and we have had a few meals with the members. Many homes here are either trailers or more run-down homes. They are so giving though despite their individual situations. What wonderful people!! I could go on and on. I just love how down-to-earth people here are. We have been so blessed with many teaching opportunities this week. We have had more teaching appointments this week than I have had in Gainesville. People just love Jesus. 

A member the other day referred us to a few of her neighbors. She gave us the name of a specific individual that she said was so nice but the Elders had not had success with before. I jokingly told her that she can leave it to the Sisters. ;) To our great surprise I was correct! My goodness, what a sweet individual! She opened up about some really pressing things that she had experienced in her past and how she had lost a baby and her husband. She had another LDS friend who had talked to her about the spirit world and had a lot of questions about it. I was able to open to Alma 40 and read to her the plan that God has for us after this life. She was amazed that it was able to tell us about that. She wanted to go back and read about it more. We left her with the Book of Mormon and set up an appointment in a couple weeks. How grateful I am for the Book of Mormon and for all the questions that it can answer for us as sons and daughters of God! 

Waycross is so wonderful! I am so grateful that I have been assigned to work with the wonderful people here! A missionary who gave his homecoming talk last week from SLC said something that his mission president would tell them: "you're not assigned to a place, but a people." How lucky am I to be assigned to such great people!! 

This gospel is true. Our Savior Jesus Christ lives and loves each and everyone of us! Share the gospel because it is the most wonderful blessing that God has given us!! 

Love you all!! God bless!

Sister Jensen :) 

September 3, 2013

Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed trying to determine what to put in an email. There is so much that happens in just a week!! But, I will do my best not to put any of you to sleep and only put the best experiences in. For all of you who are planning on serving a mission... missions are hard. I know you've heard it from your mom, from your dad, maybe from your older brother. It's one of the most spiritually challenging things you will ever do. There are days where you just don't think you can do it. My dear companion Sister Fenn had one of these very challenging weeks this last week. I have come to realize how true the statement is that when we lose ourselves we find ourselves. Sister Fenn has had a hard time coping with the idea that she will be getting a new trainee and training at six weeks. Many hours this week have been spent talking to one another and helping her realize that she can do this. One thing that I know is that God wants us to become the best that we can be. Like one of our zone leaders says, "there's no growth in the comfort zone." Maybe that's why people feel like they grow so much on their missions because there are a lot of moments when you are out of your comfort zone. Don't make this turn you away from going on a mission though. As hard as a mission can sometimes be, there are moments where you look back and think, "wow" or lessons with investigators that make you dance when you come home to your apartment because the spirit was so strong. I'm just letting you know, missions are hard, but they are amazing.

It seems like on some of the lowest days, God puts someone in your path to just give you that extra strength. Sister Fenn and I met this wonderful lady the other day. She is 26 years old and let us come into her house and she was just talking to us. She was telling us how she really came to know Christ. She just talked to us about all of her trials and how he truly has changed her. She asked us how old we were. I told her to guess my age. She said if she were to take a stab in the dark she would say 19, but if she were to guess based on my maturity she would say 26. She was like, you're going to be a CEO of some fashion line. She just talked to Sister Fenn and I. She is one of those people who can speak to your very soul and make you want to become your very best self. She really gave us that extra something that day. What a wonderful thing it is to meet such incredible people. We're still just trying to figure out how to get those wonderful people to accept the gospel ;) God has amazing children. And if you're reading this, you're one of them!! 

This week it was our privilege to witness Georgia Kings baptism. What a beautiful day that was. She has diligently read the Book of Mormon, prayed and fasted to know this is what she needed to do. She was so excited the moment she got out of the water. What an amazing experience. One of our ward members even brought an African American friend to the baptism. The friend just kept saying how strongly she could feel the spirit. She even came to church and said the same thing after church. Sister Fenn set up an appointment to meet her on Thursday. The gospel teaches us the plan of happiness and the spirit makes us happy! How great of a message we have to share!!

Sister Fenn and I also had the opportunity to have the first lesson with a lady that we talked to earlier in front of her home. She said she worked at Shands (hospital in town) and knew a lot of mormons. She is a nurse anesthetist and there are so many anesthesiologists or people in their residency there who are in our ward. By the way, she says she looooves being a nurse anesthetist and she is a mom so that was awesome to hear someone who does what i want to do! She asked us what the importance of the Book of Mormon was in our first lesson. We got to teach the whole restoration and she was just in aaww. She committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and said she would get baptized if she received that answer. It was a fantastic lesson.

Well! The news for the week is that I will be training a new missionary and opening a new area for sisters in Waycross Georgia. Like I said, God likes to push us. God is in charge. I'll do whatever he asks of me, even if it is hard. Sister Fenn and I will pick up our new trainees tomorrow in Jacksonville and I will get you the new address when I write next P day! In the meantime know that I love all of you! Read the Book of Mormon and the scriptures every day! Pray with real intent and God will help you through whatever challenges you may face. Love where you are at in life, whether it be preparing for a mission, a young mother, or a student in school. We are here on earth to have joy! So be joyful where you are and keep striving to be better!

God bless!

xoxoxo. 

SIster Jensen

p.s. most pictures are taken on Pdays so for any of you who think we just do this all the time, that is not true. We work. I promise ;) Love you all!!! MUAH!

Katelyn and Mitch's Birthday- August 19, 2013

Hello my amazing family,

Thank you for all of the great emails that were sent. I am truly blessed to have such amazing people in my life. Wow. How lucky am I? What an amazing day for Sam to receive his patriarchal blessing. After I read that letter last Monday, it was Sister Fenn and my turn to attend the single adult FHE for our ward. The FHE is held at one of our member's homes and is always a great spiritually uplifting time. The bishop was asked to come and talk a little bit about patriarchal blessings that night and I thought it was such a perfect moment knowing that my favorite youngest brother would be receiving his the next day. What a beautiful time that must have been. I still remember going to Patriarch Brown's house for mine. How time flies I tell you!

Well, I don't know when school starts in Utah, but school starts this week for people here in Gainesville. For P-Day we always go to Target and boy was it crowded! It seems like students are just popping out of bushes around here. It's weird being a missionary in a college town. I feel like I could just be doing my college shopping right there beside all of them. Where we live, however, it's more renters and students who are in graduate programs.

Well, to give some updates on a few things, we have not been able to really get a hold of Kaylyn much this last week because she has started school in another city and stays there from Monday to Thursday. She wasn't able to meet with us and wasn't in church so we're hoping that we can talk to her and schedule some sort of time that we can meet with her. She's really busy right now which makes it really hard, especially when she works on the weekends. We were able to meet with Georgia (investigator who previously said she didn't want to get baptized). We were able to talk to her about her concerns about getting baptized and read some verses in Mosiah 18. I know this is a huge leap of faith for her. She just wants to make sure that she's doing the right thing. We set up a baptismal date for the 31st and I just keep praying that she will stay strong from the adversary. Satin sure does get on my nerves sometimes. As we read the verses in Mosiah 18 and helped her feel that she really is ready for baptism, she finished reading the verse where it says that they shouted for joy. I didn't even ask her to read that one and she read it. She paused and said, I think I'm ready. She seriously amazes me. The last fast Sunday in the gospel principles class, the subject was the word of wisdom. Both Kaylyn and Georgia were there and I was thinking "well, this will be interesting since we haven't covered this with either of them." From our last visit with Georgia she told us that she had put her coffee machine away and wasn't drinking her tea any more. She is so devoted to God. I know she's ready for baptism. What a treat it would be to see her be baptized before I leave (I'm assuming I'll be leaving since that's been the norm for the Sisters assigned to this ward).

Oh, by the way I got my first dose of firelfies. Wow. Funny story, Sister Fenn and I were going to visit this less active that our relief society president asked us to check on. She lives way out and we had to take this long dirt road to her house. There were all of these signs like "bad dog" or "beware of dog" and "guard dog" all over as we drove through the trees to this house. Sister Fenn was like, there's no way I'm backing you out of here. I was expecting some vicious dog to jump out at us from the trees at any second. We drove up to the house and then this chihuahua comes out. Here we were freaking ourselves out about some huge dog that was pictured on all of these signs to come and eat us and then to see this chihuahua.  I was like, "you've got to be kidding me." It was pretty funny actually. Once we came out of her house to our car in her big grassy yard there were all of these fireflies. The best way to describe it was like magic. It was amazing. Absolutely beautiful. If I could have just bottled up the moment. God has made such a beautiful world.

Well this is getting way too long! But I love you all and pray you all are doing well!!

Love always,

Sister Jensen 

August 26, 2013

Hello Family and Friends!

I cannot believe how fast this last transfer flew by! I've been out here about 3 months already!?? That does not even seem real. The president called on Friday and has asked Sister Fenn and I to train. I guess this means I'll be white washing or opening an area. God sure knows how to spice things up here and there ;) I will do what he needs me to do though, even if it is hard. In fact, in mission life/real life he doesn't usually ask us to do easy things. He likes us to become true disciples of him. I was just reading in Mosiah today and reading of the afflictions that Alma and his people had but they dealt with them cheerfully and with patience. I don't think I've been able to relate to the scriptures so much in my life as I have as I've been out here on my mission. I love what Elder Wirthlin  said in a talk years ago of what his mother use to tell him, "come what may and love it."

This week has been pretty eventful. Sister Fenn and I went on exchanges with our sister training leaders. Those sisters are so amazing. They serve in the YSA branch on UF campus. We also had zone conference and I got to see three missionaries that came out in the field with me there. That was great to see familiar faces. One of the elders said something there to the effect: If this gospel weren't true, there's no way this work would progress. You take two missionaries, you give them a gas card, an apartment, a debit card with $140 a month and then you just drop them off and say "go share the gospel". It's amazing how involved God is in this work.

This Saturday is not only a big day in Gainesville because it's the first gator's football game, but Georgia Kings is getting baptized!! Georgia had her interviews with Elder Gao and the bishop after church on Sunday. I felt so bad when she was going to them because she was SO nervous! When she came out of both interviews, however, she was just beaming. I can't wait for her to feel that amazing spirit as she finally enters into the waters of baptism and then receives the gift of the Holy Ghost. What a great way to end a transfer for me!

Sister Fenn and I haven't been able to meet with Daniel and Sam for a couple of weeks because they have been soo busy! (the miracle find). We were in their area last night and were talking to one of their neighbors because we had knocked on their door and they weren't there. As we were talking, we saw a few people carry a mattress into Daniel and Sam's apartment so we decided to knock and see if Sam and Daniel were there with them. Sure enough, they were! It was getting close to nine o'clock and we have to be home by nine if we're not in a lesson and nine thirty if we are. Daniel seemed to want us to share some more with them. We decided we would have a quick lesson before we had to go back. The spirit was so strong in that room. Daniel and Sam were asking questions from our last visit. I could see, and have seen in Daniel, how he is just holding so much inside him. That's because of some things his old mentor in their church said or did to them and the fact that he and Sam have lived together. We shared a scripture on repentance and then I felt impressed to share that we have to forgive others of the things that they have done to us if we expect God to forgive us. Daniel couldn't look me in the eyes. I knew he knew what I was saying was true. I asked him if he would pray and ask God to help him forgive those who had offended him. He didn't commit, but we'll help him as we meet with him and Sam again. Sam and Daniel are some of the best people I've ever met. I know that God loves each of them very much. I know that we have to forgive in order to be forgiven of our transgressions as well. I was grateful to truly have the spirit be the teacher in that lesson and am so grateful for the healing that comes through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week.

Read and pray every day!

Sister Jensen

August 12, 2013

Hello,

What a wonderful week it sounds like you have been having! What a fun trip up to Island Park. Right now a dip in a river sounds like a great idea. Sam, I am so excited for you to get your patriarchal blessing. You are such an amazing kid and I am so grateful to have you as a brother. And of course, I loved that letter the other day. I hope you got mine. 

Sometimes it's really hard being a missionary. I feel like my weaknesses are held under a magnifying glass. It's hard not to get really down with myself when there is so much I could be better at. Before coming out on my mission, I remember worrying about the trainer I would get. I really wanted to get a trainer who was really experienced and had been out a long time. God seems to have different plans many of the time. And now, here I am training someone at six weeks. It's hard not being able to talk about the gospel in the way that I would want, but in spite of all of my many weakness, God seems to pull it all together. 

To fill our time, Sister Fenn and I put down less active members names and knock around them because we haven't received the "ok" yet from the bishop to visit them. This gives us some direction to go during our day. On Tuesday we had a less active written who lived in a complex that I had only been once before with Sister Toledo. I remember her telling me that she and her last companion had knocked around there, so I was searching where we needed to knock. I kept repeating to myself "Heavenly Father, where do we need to go, where should we go." I kept looking around the complex thinking where we could knock. Two apartment hallways caught my attention so I told Sister Fenn that we would knock around there. We headed for one of the hallways that I was thinking of. We walked over and right when we started into the hallway a man was carrying some things down from the upper floor of apartments. We asked him how he was doing and if he needed some help. He was hesitant of taking two nineteen and twenty year old gal's help. He said "oh, no, I'm fine." I've come to learn myself that you need to be a little pushy to know if someone really does want or need help. I said, "no really, we'll help you." He accepted and said how that would actually be really nice. Some of the managers had told him that he needed to be out at 12:00 which he hadn't realized and here it was 1:00. His expression told us what a crazy coincidence that we were helping him. We hardly helped him. He had already moved most everything into the other apartment in the same complex that he was moving into. He genuinely thanked us over and over for our help and we were just like, "no, really we hardly did anything." He went in to further detail that he was so grateful we came. He said that he was really bitter and was talking to God before we came. He said he had been moving since 7:00 am until the time we came and there had been no one around and then all of a sudden we showed up and asked to help him. It turns out he had been a minister and hadn't been to church for two years because of some things that happened. He and his girlfriend were living together and he just was saying how he knew it was wrong and that they were trying to figure it all out. We told him we would come back the next morning when his fiance was there and help them organize their things in their apartment. We ended up coming back the next morning and we started helping them but they wanted to talk more than anything. We shared with them the message of the restoration and a light and understanding of the message showed on their faces. We gave them a Book of Mormon and Sam (the fiance) and Daniel said they would do it. Sam was like, I really will. I don't just say something. They weren't able to come to church with us this Sunday, but Sister Fenn and I stopped by their place in the evening to check on them. Sam didn't have her ring on and she said that they were going to stop living together and get their lives right again. I was thinking, well that makes teaching the law of chastity so much easier. ;) It was such a miracle. They are so elect!!! My heart kind of breaks in the fact that I will most likely be transferred at the beginning of next month, but I hope and pray Sister Fenn will be able to teach them and get to see them baptized. I can't wait to meet with them again. 

We have been given some service opportunities this week. One of them was told to us by our ward mission leader. He is in his pediatric dental residency and told us of one of his fellow classmates who was moving. She had such a terrible experience with her last movers and he told her that he could get some people to help her out. We, as a district, went over and moved her whole apartment out and then moved all of her things into her new one. She was so grateful and was asking us all of these questions about being missionaries and it was such a great opportunity. Her mom lived in upstate New York and just kept saying how impressed she's always been with the mormons and how service oriented they are. I've noticed one thing that many people say. You all are just so happy. Lorielle (the gal moving) told Sister Fenn this as she drove us over to her new apartment. She said every mormon she knew was always just sooo nice and so happy. I just want to be like, "It's because the gospel is true!!" We know how we can be happy in this life. 

Well, family, thanks for all of your love and support. It is definitely needed and appreciated. I pray for you often and hope for your success in all you do. Give Claire some major loving from me and take her on a walk around the block ;) I sure miss that sometimes. Thanks for your wonderful thoughts and great examples! 

xoxoox

Sister Jensen

August 5, 2013

Dear Mom,

 

Sorry for keeping this short and for anyone who wrote me an email and I didn't get back to you, I will try and respond next week. An hour and a half seems like a long time but it goes by so fast when you're trying to respond to everyone. Mitchell, CONGRATULATIONS on just being amazing! I cannot wait to hear where you and Katelyn head to do medical school. You've got a proud sister out here in Florida. Sister Fenn (that's my companion's name, mom) and I had a dinner with a family in our ward yesterday. They're a young family in their anesthesia residency at UF. The mom reminds me so much of your mom Mitch and her little boy reminds me of Lucus. Such a cute family.

 

Well this week has been great. Being a trainer is stressful but it's been good. Sister Fenn and I get along really well. She is very easy going and I can stress out pretty easily, so sometimes she has to slap me back into shape. ;) I'll send pictures next time because my time is running really short.

 

So... highights of the week. We have been teaching Kaylyn who is preparing for baptism on the 17th. With school starting and trying to get all of the lessons covered, we may have to extend that date. We taught a lesson on keeping the sabbath day holy. This was something I felt we needed to bring up to help prepare her for baptism because she works almost all Sundays. The next visit we had with her she expressed her concerns from the previous lesson. She is worried because Sundays are one of the only days she can work with school, etc. We just helped her realize that when we keep the commandments, God will bless us and he will provide a way. And then in church the Sunday school lesson was on the word of wisdom (which we haven't gotten to in the lessons). I was a little apprehensive about this but it turned out well. She was just laughing and telling me how she feels like she's doing great and then there's one more thing she needs to fix. Ha! I'm glad she took it well?

 

Sister Fenn and I were able to stop by and see Georgia the other week. We invited her to church and she said she would come. Saturday came along and she called us telling us that she decided she didn't want to go, but she would attend The Rock Church and then decide if the mormon church was for her. I talked to her that she needed to go to our church to know if it was true, not another church. It was such a miracle to see her come to church yesterday and she even told us we could come over on Tuesday!! I pray she will receive her answer of her heartfelt prayer that this is the path for her.

 

All my love!!

 

Sister Jensen