Hello all(:
Well, this is it. Thank you all for supporting me throughout my mission and following along with my journey. This is probably all going to sound incredibly cheesy, but hold tight.
I'd like to take some time to reflect on all of my areas, and things I've learned from each of them.
When I first came to Star Valley, I learned how real this all is. The gospel, the prophet, even Jesus Christ. I started to see it all. We walking into different homes everyday and it became apparent to me when someone was living without the gospel in their life. I was blown away by the reality of it all, and the incredible difference the gospel could make in people's lives. I had never seen it so clearly, and I understood how important this work is.
As I came to the end of my first few transfers in Star Valley, I was sent out to the Pocatello YSA. Completely different area. We were surrounded by students, our peers all day, and it was hard at first to "preach" to them. I'd like to say I learned to forget myself, but I still had my moments. I did try everyday though, to put aside what people might think and be confident in the message we had.
After the YSA I was sent out to Chubbuck, and holy cow. I learned patience, trust, charity and acceptance of God's plans, not ours. Trials will hit in everyone's lives. We can't control what other people do, but we can at least control what we do.
I thought I would end my mission in Chubbuck, but as transfers came up, President had other ideas. A while ago, when I was in Pocatello YSA with Sister Wilson, we had been talking about past areas. She talked about how she would love to go back to Bear Lake and have another opportunity to work in that area. I told her how cool I thought it would be to go back to Star Valley, just for my last transfer. To see people I loved, and get to continue working with the people I had met. It wasn't and idea that stuck around very long, we sort of talked about it and there it went.
Well transfers came up while I was in Chubbuck, and President called to talk about our area. He started the conversation by saying how he needed to close some sister areas, and we discussed what Chubbuck would look like with elders. After a bit, he asked, "Do you have any unfinished business in Thayne?" I was shocked, and literally started to cry I was so happy.
I think that was the moment I realized just how much Heavenly Father cares for each and every one of us. I didn't pray to come back, I didn't think to ask anyone, yet Heavenly Father knew my desire and had a need for me to come back to Star Valley. The whole transfer has been a mix of emotions. It's sad to come back and see people you love and taught, going back to their old ways and struggling with the gospel. But it's also been so wonderful to see how much some have improved.
I've loved my time spent as a missionary. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know my Savior lives, and sacrificed himself for us. I know that through him, we can live again. We can change our lives and become new people through his atoning power-
(3 Nephi 9:13-15)
13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
Jesus Christ performed the atonement so he could offer the promise in the verses above. No matter what we've done, and how far gone we thing we may be, he can "heal" us and is waiting, with his arms extended towards us, to do so.
I love you all so much, and I hope you were able to be inspired as you read my updates and all I learned as I served.
Love,
Sister Aubrilyn Jensen
Monday, March 11, 2019
Monday, March 4, 2019
Blessings of the Temple
Hello Hello everybody!!
Holy cow, the countdown is real. I just realized I have 9 days left. This week has flown by! I'll share the highlights...
On Wednesday we went to the Family History Center to enter in Nate's membership number and find him some family names to take to the temple! We did baptisms in the Star Valley temple the next evening with them and it was such a neat experience! At first Nate wasn't too sure about being the one to baptize us, but after he was baptized and saw how simple it was, he was willing to stay and baptize his wife and us. It was so sweet to see MaKendra and Nate in the temple together. Going to the temple excited them for the day they can come back to be sealed for time and all eternity to one another.
We also had a girl we're working with attend mutual this week, which was huge!! She has been hard to meet with, but we are hoping this gets her excited to be taught and attend church. We also found 2 new people to work with this week. The area is really getting started and it is so cool to see!
This one is short today, there's been lots to do and figure out today! I love you all and I'm excited to see what the last few days of my mission entail. Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Holy cow, the countdown is real. I just realized I have 9 days left. This week has flown by! I'll share the highlights...
On Wednesday we went to the Family History Center to enter in Nate's membership number and find him some family names to take to the temple! We did baptisms in the Star Valley temple the next evening with them and it was such a neat experience! At first Nate wasn't too sure about being the one to baptize us, but after he was baptized and saw how simple it was, he was willing to stay and baptize his wife and us. It was so sweet to see MaKendra and Nate in the temple together. Going to the temple excited them for the day they can come back to be sealed for time and all eternity to one another.
We also had a girl we're working with attend mutual this week, which was huge!! She has been hard to meet with, but we are hoping this gets her excited to be taught and attend church. We also found 2 new people to work with this week. The area is really getting started and it is so cool to see!
This one is short today, there's been lots to do and figure out today! I love you all and I'm excited to see what the last few days of my mission entail. Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 25, 2019
His Hand Is Stretched Out Still
Hello hello all!
Holy cow... Only a few of these novels left for y'all to read! (; 2 weeks and I'm home! And it sounds like Oregon is trying to welcome me with snow... Hopefully that clears out before I arrive😂
This week was super busy! Monday was fun, for pday we had a fun nerf war with our district. I battled it out with this one elder, and after defeating him, Sister Taylor came up behind me and killed me with a cheap shot. We got Kainoas that day, and WOW. That stuff is amazing.. Kainoas is a Hawaiian grill in AZ that Sister Taylor worked at. A family she worked with recently opened one up in Rexburg and brought some down for us. It was incredible. Later that evening we taught the Lish family, a less active older couple who are caring for their grand-kids right now. They haven't been to church since I was here last year. Someone got offended and they stopped going. (the usual cause) We were really bold with them and taught about honoring the sabbath day. We committed them to come to church with us... Stay tuned!
Tuesday we started off strong by getting yelled at by an old man. There's a guy Sister Thomas and I met last time I was here... And I don't think he remembered me. That or he was high. (caught a string whiff of somethin when Sister Taylor opened the screen door to knock lol) He can be pretty grumpy anyways, but was pretty clear about not wanting us back. Not his time I guess. Sister Taylor was a little shook by it, you don't get a lot of rude rejections from people in Star Valley. But by the end of the day we met a girl named Jessica that had moved into the area recently with her husband and kids. She basically said she was lonely and would love for us to come back. She goes, "i don't know much about missionaries, so I guess we'll have something to talk about!" They're renovating their house so we may get to help with that!
Wednesday we went to the FHC with Nate, and got him started of family history work! He loved it, we may have gotten him hooked haha. Saturday he was baptized, (woohoo!!!) so later this week we'll go to the temple to do baptisms for his family. Wednesday was also cool, because I GOT PANTS! Hahaha, I know I only have 2 weeks left, but I had to be able to say I wore pants on my mission. Life goals met.
On Thursday we went to the temple as a zone, even President came. It was cool to see the changes and nice to be in the temple again. That evening we reconnected with some people I knew from last year. They never had time to have us over, but they seemed like they might be interested. We caught them home and chatted with them for a whole. We brought up the Book of Mormon, and Jamie goes "I haven't been reading it as much as I should" She isn't even a member of the church and she knows we gotta be reading our scriptures! I thought it was great. We asked if we could come back to read with her some and explain more about it. She said yes, but she has been incredibly busy lately. She works as a vet and has been working longer hours lately. I think we'll be bale to get in before I leave though so I'm excited(:
I'm skipping to Saturday because this is getting long. Nate was baptized on Saturday!!!! It was awesome! Kinda stressful, but everything went well. So many people came, I counted 62 at one point and people were still sneaking in. Nate seemed to feel loved and happy that so many people showed for his special day. The whole service was very sweet and carried over to Sunday, where Nate was confirmed and received the priesthood. He and his wife are looking forward to being sealed in the temple in a year. We had the opportunity to make Nate's baptismal programs and on the back we printed the scripture 3 Nephi 9:14-
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."
It has been so cool to come back to this area and see how well it is doing. There are people everywhere for us to teach, we have been so busy lately. People are being prepared for us to find and teach, and it's been incredible to reconnect with some of the people I taught before and see their progress now. I'm excited to see what the next two weeks will bring. I love you all, have a wonderful week!!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Holy cow... Only a few of these novels left for y'all to read! (; 2 weeks and I'm home! And it sounds like Oregon is trying to welcome me with snow... Hopefully that clears out before I arrive😂
This week was super busy! Monday was fun, for pday we had a fun nerf war with our district. I battled it out with this one elder, and after defeating him, Sister Taylor came up behind me and killed me with a cheap shot. We got Kainoas that day, and WOW. That stuff is amazing.. Kainoas is a Hawaiian grill in AZ that Sister Taylor worked at. A family she worked with recently opened one up in Rexburg and brought some down for us. It was incredible. Later that evening we taught the Lish family, a less active older couple who are caring for their grand-kids right now. They haven't been to church since I was here last year. Someone got offended and they stopped going. (the usual cause) We were really bold with them and taught about honoring the sabbath day. We committed them to come to church with us... Stay tuned!
Tuesday we started off strong by getting yelled at by an old man. There's a guy Sister Thomas and I met last time I was here... And I don't think he remembered me. That or he was high. (caught a string whiff of somethin when Sister Taylor opened the screen door to knock lol) He can be pretty grumpy anyways, but was pretty clear about not wanting us back. Not his time I guess. Sister Taylor was a little shook by it, you don't get a lot of rude rejections from people in Star Valley. But by the end of the day we met a girl named Jessica that had moved into the area recently with her husband and kids. She basically said she was lonely and would love for us to come back. She goes, "i don't know much about missionaries, so I guess we'll have something to talk about!" They're renovating their house so we may get to help with that!
Wednesday we went to the FHC with Nate, and got him started of family history work! He loved it, we may have gotten him hooked haha. Saturday he was baptized, (woohoo!!!) so later this week we'll go to the temple to do baptisms for his family. Wednesday was also cool, because I GOT PANTS! Hahaha, I know I only have 2 weeks left, but I had to be able to say I wore pants on my mission. Life goals met.
On Thursday we went to the temple as a zone, even President came. It was cool to see the changes and nice to be in the temple again. That evening we reconnected with some people I knew from last year. They never had time to have us over, but they seemed like they might be interested. We caught them home and chatted with them for a whole. We brought up the Book of Mormon, and Jamie goes "I haven't been reading it as much as I should" She isn't even a member of the church and she knows we gotta be reading our scriptures! I thought it was great. We asked if we could come back to read with her some and explain more about it. She said yes, but she has been incredibly busy lately. She works as a vet and has been working longer hours lately. I think we'll be bale to get in before I leave though so I'm excited(:
I'm skipping to Saturday because this is getting long. Nate was baptized on Saturday!!!! It was awesome! Kinda stressful, but everything went well. So many people came, I counted 62 at one point and people were still sneaking in. Nate seemed to feel loved and happy that so many people showed for his special day. The whole service was very sweet and carried over to Sunday, where Nate was confirmed and received the priesthood. He and his wife are looking forward to being sealed in the temple in a year. We had the opportunity to make Nate's baptismal programs and on the back we printed the scripture 3 Nephi 9:14-
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."
It has been so cool to come back to this area and see how well it is doing. There are people everywhere for us to teach, we have been so busy lately. People are being prepared for us to find and teach, and it's been incredible to reconnect with some of the people I taught before and see their progress now. I'm excited to see what the next two weeks will bring. I love you all, have a wonderful week!!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 18, 2019
V-Day as a Single Lady of the Lord
Hello all!
Our week was off to a solid start when we were trying to find better arrangements to workout in the mornings and Sister Thompson, (what a saint) informed us that the high school is open in the mornings. They have an indoor track and a weight room, so we're basically set. Sister Taylor may be able to leave this area ripped, I on the other hand, only have a few weeks left. So maybe I'll kinda-sorta be in shape again. I do have to say, the elevation changed killed Sister T the first run around the track😂 I'm more adjusted, so at least I got that going for me.
Tuesday night we got to eat with Sister Elliott at the Seafood place here in town. Basically my favorite place to eat with a favorite lady in the ward. That evening we visited the Davis family to follow up with Nate, someone I helped baptize when I was here last year. We had a good discussion with them and established what more we could do to help them back to church. We'll be teaching them in the future. After discussing that we played a game with them where you place headphones on your head and try to guess what your teammate is saying. Nate's facial expressions were the best. I wish I had gotten pictures😂
Wednesday we planned to go out to Bedford. I think the Lord was testing me. I had said I never want to drive in Bedford during a whiteout, and Wednesday, (sure enough) was a whiteout. We had made plans to go out with our ward mission leader's wife already, so we went. Surprisingly, no one was home so it was sort of a wash.. We saw a huge mansion though, I'll include pics!
Thursday was surprisingly awesome. Valentines Day has never been a real favorite for me, but last year it was made sweet when some members had us over for dinner and insisted that "every girl deserves a rose on Valentines day." Well their philosophy proved true this year too. We did some service in the morning for Sister Reinhart, had a correlation meeting with the Elliotts, made v-day cookies for folks, and after our first dinner appointment, we were given roses. And yes, I did say first dinner appointment, meaning we had two. Nate and his wife were sweet enough to offer to feed us on Valentines Day as well as have a lesson, so we had to book a second dinner with them haha. We were stuffed, but it was a full day which isn't always the case on holidays as a missionary.
Friday, holy heckanoly what a blessed Friday. On Friday we heard the news that missionaries can now call or video-chat home every week, instead of just twice a year. It's crazy, I started my mission without a smartphone, and now we can call home each week! I think it'll be a wonderful change, and though I'll only enjoy it for 3 more pdays, I know future missionaries will benefit from it for sure.
Friday was also the day of the worst blizzard/whiteout I've experienced while in Wyoming. I took a video at one point, but I don't know that it did it justice. The thing hit right before we headed to our dinner appointment. The family we were eating with was off the highway and I was scared for my life because you could hardly see 3 feet in front of you. Definitely expected to get rear ended, but we didn't so everything's good! Some sisters and elders were headed back from Pocatello that night. Cool experience with the spirit actually, I didn't realize it was a prompting but I guess it was! After seeing how bad the blizzard still was once we were out of dinner, I suddenly felt a wave of concern for the missionaries driving back and felt very strongly that they should not attempt going through the pass. We called to see where they were, and they hadn't even hit Montpelier yet. So, we told them to stay with missionaries out there.
When we saw them the next day, they told us that as they were driving, they were trying to decide if they should go through the pass or not because the roads were pretty bad coming from Poky. They were split about it, and decided to say a prayer. After they prayed, the Elder driving said he didn't feel any sort of way, and unless anyone else felt strongly, he would continue on until told otherwise. After a moment of driving, we called, telling them not to go through the pass. I don't know what would have happened to them had they gone through, but it was pretty cool to hear the other end of the story and know we were following the spirit without even realizing it. Moral of the story: if it's a good thought out of love, do it. The spirit speaks through simple means.
Saturday we helped with a quilting activity one of the wards was putting on. We helped pick out fabrics and I started to warm up my sewing skills on some test scraps, but we had to leave before they were ready for me to start sewing any squares together. Hopefully we'll get to see some pictures of the finished products. We also had district council that day and made a dish called "Poutine" that was introduced to us by our canadian elder. It was alright, basically fries with gravy and cheese. Later that evening we made up for it with round two of Sister Elliott, who took us too Agave!
Lastly, yesterday we had a fun dinner with Jake and his family, who we're teaching. We got pretty real with him earlier in the week asking him and his wife to set a date to be sealed in the temple. There's still no word on that, but he is making progress with his own smaller goals. He had asked us about keeping the sabbath day, and what activities are appropriate for the sabbath. Well on Sunday the High Councilmen both ended up speaking about keeping the sabbath day, and he definitely noticed. He told us some of the goals he had already thought of, from what they talked about. He'll make it to the temple eventually, and I'm excited for it.
After dinner we went to visit a family I have been thinking of all throughout my mission. We tried contacting them the night before, and even made it up their treacherous driveway, but they weren't home. Sunday evening they were home and they had plowed! It was good to reconnect with them, and hopefully we'll be teaching them soon.. It's hard to say because the husband is heavily involved in the hill climbs that go on this time of year. We'll get something worked out though!
Congrats if you made it to the bottom, this was quite the novel. It's been a great week though and I am excited for the next one. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week!!
Love ya,
Sister Jensen
Our week was off to a solid start when we were trying to find better arrangements to workout in the mornings and Sister Thompson, (what a saint) informed us that the high school is open in the mornings. They have an indoor track and a weight room, so we're basically set. Sister Taylor may be able to leave this area ripped, I on the other hand, only have a few weeks left. So maybe I'll kinda-sorta be in shape again. I do have to say, the elevation changed killed Sister T the first run around the track😂 I'm more adjusted, so at least I got that going for me.
Tuesday night we got to eat with Sister Elliott at the Seafood place here in town. Basically my favorite place to eat with a favorite lady in the ward. That evening we visited the Davis family to follow up with Nate, someone I helped baptize when I was here last year. We had a good discussion with them and established what more we could do to help them back to church. We'll be teaching them in the future. After discussing that we played a game with them where you place headphones on your head and try to guess what your teammate is saying. Nate's facial expressions were the best. I wish I had gotten pictures😂
Wednesday we planned to go out to Bedford. I think the Lord was testing me. I had said I never want to drive in Bedford during a whiteout, and Wednesday, (sure enough) was a whiteout. We had made plans to go out with our ward mission leader's wife already, so we went. Surprisingly, no one was home so it was sort of a wash.. We saw a huge mansion though, I'll include pics!
Thursday was surprisingly awesome. Valentines Day has never been a real favorite for me, but last year it was made sweet when some members had us over for dinner and insisted that "every girl deserves a rose on Valentines day." Well their philosophy proved true this year too. We did some service in the morning for Sister Reinhart, had a correlation meeting with the Elliotts, made v-day cookies for folks, and after our first dinner appointment, we were given roses. And yes, I did say first dinner appointment, meaning we had two. Nate and his wife were sweet enough to offer to feed us on Valentines Day as well as have a lesson, so we had to book a second dinner with them haha. We were stuffed, but it was a full day which isn't always the case on holidays as a missionary.
Friday, holy heckanoly what a blessed Friday. On Friday we heard the news that missionaries can now call or video-chat home every week, instead of just twice a year. It's crazy, I started my mission without a smartphone, and now we can call home each week! I think it'll be a wonderful change, and though I'll only enjoy it for 3 more pdays, I know future missionaries will benefit from it for sure.
Friday was also the day of the worst blizzard/whiteout I've experienced while in Wyoming. I took a video at one point, but I don't know that it did it justice. The thing hit right before we headed to our dinner appointment. The family we were eating with was off the highway and I was scared for my life because you could hardly see 3 feet in front of you. Definitely expected to get rear ended, but we didn't so everything's good! Some sisters and elders were headed back from Pocatello that night. Cool experience with the spirit actually, I didn't realize it was a prompting but I guess it was! After seeing how bad the blizzard still was once we were out of dinner, I suddenly felt a wave of concern for the missionaries driving back and felt very strongly that they should not attempt going through the pass. We called to see where they were, and they hadn't even hit Montpelier yet. So, we told them to stay with missionaries out there.
When we saw them the next day, they told us that as they were driving, they were trying to decide if they should go through the pass or not because the roads were pretty bad coming from Poky. They were split about it, and decided to say a prayer. After they prayed, the Elder driving said he didn't feel any sort of way, and unless anyone else felt strongly, he would continue on until told otherwise. After a moment of driving, we called, telling them not to go through the pass. I don't know what would have happened to them had they gone through, but it was pretty cool to hear the other end of the story and know we were following the spirit without even realizing it. Moral of the story: if it's a good thought out of love, do it. The spirit speaks through simple means.
Saturday we helped with a quilting activity one of the wards was putting on. We helped pick out fabrics and I started to warm up my sewing skills on some test scraps, but we had to leave before they were ready for me to start sewing any squares together. Hopefully we'll get to see some pictures of the finished products. We also had district council that day and made a dish called "Poutine" that was introduced to us by our canadian elder. It was alright, basically fries with gravy and cheese. Later that evening we made up for it with round two of Sister Elliott, who took us too Agave!
Lastly, yesterday we had a fun dinner with Jake and his family, who we're teaching. We got pretty real with him earlier in the week asking him and his wife to set a date to be sealed in the temple. There's still no word on that, but he is making progress with his own smaller goals. He had asked us about keeping the sabbath day, and what activities are appropriate for the sabbath. Well on Sunday the High Councilmen both ended up speaking about keeping the sabbath day, and he definitely noticed. He told us some of the goals he had already thought of, from what they talked about. He'll make it to the temple eventually, and I'm excited for it.
After dinner we went to visit a family I have been thinking of all throughout my mission. We tried contacting them the night before, and even made it up their treacherous driveway, but they weren't home. Sunday evening they were home and they had plowed! It was good to reconnect with them, and hopefully we'll be teaching them soon.. It's hard to say because the husband is heavily involved in the hill climbs that go on this time of year. We'll get something worked out though!
Congrats if you made it to the bottom, this was quite the novel. It's been a great week though and I am excited for the next one. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week!!
Love ya,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 11, 2019
"Sister Jensen, I love the ukulele"
Hello hello all!
Wow, it feels like pday was two days ago! The weeks are flying by too fast.
Last Monday we went out to Montpelier for a Zone Activity and musical number practice. We were supposed to have Zone Conference on Tuesday, so we headed to Montpelier for pday. Sister Wilson was able to come into Montpelier and we figured the music out! I was asked to sing "Lamb to the Slaughter" by the Nashville Tribute band. It's a beautiful song about the sacrifice Joseph Smith made in not denying what he knew to be true. (I'll attach it so y'all can hear) It was sort of tricky because it's written for a tenor, but we figured it out...I basically just sing parts up the octave when it got to low and switch back into the written octave when I can hit it haha. I think it went well, the video isn't us performing it, which is unfortunate because I think i messed up less when we recorded it but oh well. But what will ya do when you only have a weeks notice and the people performing with you were out in Paris and Soda Springs? Oh well lol.
Zone Conference actually got cancelled for Tuesday morning, but we did have it later that week on Friday. (sorry this email is getting so out of order day-wise, but bear with me!) It was a wonderful Zone Conference, we talked about tsunamis! In Japan, there are many stones with writing on them, warning future generations not to build below a certain point, or to "find higher ground" so when tsunamis come, they won't get caught in the waves. President related that to the important message we have to share, and the love that is shown in warning those around us. In all, I felt very motivated and excited to continue working in Star Valley for my last transfer. I feel like I have a unique opportunity for sure.
We had 2 lessons with Nate this week, and he during the first, he said he wants to get baptized!! During the second lesson he set his date for February 23rd!! I'm excited for him, he and his wife are ready for a change. He really seems to want to put his life behind him and be better! They came to church this Sunday and it was sweet to see how much they seemed to enjoy being there. We're hoping to do some family history work with him later this week so he can have a name to take to the temple.
We got to stop by a lot of people this week, of course I don't have time to put them all in. Some funny experiences I gotta say a bit about tho-
We stopped by Tina's just in time to help her figure out her Netflix account. She was happy to see me haha. We had dinner with some sweet members, and the husband had to jet 10 minutes into dinner. He had a meeting to get too. I knew them well from my time in SV before, and planned to play them a song on my ukulele, but I was surprised he was leaving so quick and forgot to say anything. I played for his wife and later he called and left a voicemail saying "Sister Jensen, i love the ukulele..." I inspired him to pick the uke back up, so he bought one! We'll be jamming sometimex) Sister Wilson came back to SV with me after Zone Conference for an exchange! Sadly, the top people she wanted to reconnect and follow up with weren't home. we'll have to plan it better next time. It was still fun to be with her for a short bit though(:
Lastly, we had a wonderful lesson with 2 recent converts on Sunday. We focused mostly on the love that God has for us. I could feel the spirit throughout the lesson and I hope the girls both internalized the message we shared. Towards the end, as I was bearing my testimony I got choked up because it hit me again how much I love this work and how sweet it is to share my testimony with those I love. I got emotional a bit because I realized again that my time is short, but I am so grateful to be here. I love this gospel and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you all have a wonderful week and can feel his love strengthening you.
Love,
Sister Jensen
Wow, it feels like pday was two days ago! The weeks are flying by too fast.
Last Monday we went out to Montpelier for a Zone Activity and musical number practice. We were supposed to have Zone Conference on Tuesday, so we headed to Montpelier for pday. Sister Wilson was able to come into Montpelier and we figured the music out! I was asked to sing "Lamb to the Slaughter" by the Nashville Tribute band. It's a beautiful song about the sacrifice Joseph Smith made in not denying what he knew to be true. (I'll attach it so y'all can hear) It was sort of tricky because it's written for a tenor, but we figured it out...I basically just sing parts up the octave when it got to low and switch back into the written octave when I can hit it haha. I think it went well, the video isn't us performing it, which is unfortunate because I think i messed up less when we recorded it but oh well. But what will ya do when you only have a weeks notice and the people performing with you were out in Paris and Soda Springs? Oh well lol.
Zone Conference actually got cancelled for Tuesday morning, but we did have it later that week on Friday. (sorry this email is getting so out of order day-wise, but bear with me!) It was a wonderful Zone Conference, we talked about tsunamis! In Japan, there are many stones with writing on them, warning future generations not to build below a certain point, or to "find higher ground" so when tsunamis come, they won't get caught in the waves. President related that to the important message we have to share, and the love that is shown in warning those around us. In all, I felt very motivated and excited to continue working in Star Valley for my last transfer. I feel like I have a unique opportunity for sure.
We had 2 lessons with Nate this week, and he during the first, he said he wants to get baptized!! During the second lesson he set his date for February 23rd!! I'm excited for him, he and his wife are ready for a change. He really seems to want to put his life behind him and be better! They came to church this Sunday and it was sweet to see how much they seemed to enjoy being there. We're hoping to do some family history work with him later this week so he can have a name to take to the temple.
We got to stop by a lot of people this week, of course I don't have time to put them all in. Some funny experiences I gotta say a bit about tho-
We stopped by Tina's just in time to help her figure out her Netflix account. She was happy to see me haha. We had dinner with some sweet members, and the husband had to jet 10 minutes into dinner. He had a meeting to get too. I knew them well from my time in SV before, and planned to play them a song on my ukulele, but I was surprised he was leaving so quick and forgot to say anything. I played for his wife and later he called and left a voicemail saying "Sister Jensen, i love the ukulele..." I inspired him to pick the uke back up, so he bought one! We'll be jamming sometimex) Sister Wilson came back to SV with me after Zone Conference for an exchange! Sadly, the top people she wanted to reconnect and follow up with weren't home. we'll have to plan it better next time. It was still fun to be with her for a short bit though(:
Lastly, we had a wonderful lesson with 2 recent converts on Sunday. We focused mostly on the love that God has for us. I could feel the spirit throughout the lesson and I hope the girls both internalized the message we shared. Towards the end, as I was bearing my testimony I got choked up because it hit me again how much I love this work and how sweet it is to share my testimony with those I love. I got emotional a bit because I realized again that my time is short, but I am so grateful to be here. I love this gospel and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you all have a wonderful week and can feel his love strengthening you.
Love,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 4, 2019
Have Miracles Ceased?
Hello hello!!
Holy cow folks, I am back! I'm already getting ahead of myself, I'm too excited.
Monday and Tuesday were full of last time visits with Sister Miller. It was bittersweet, especially recognizing that I would be leaving too. There are so many wonderful people in Chubbuck, and I was sad to leave. Once we dropped Sister Miller off to the mission home, the day became a mess of packing and preparing the area for the Elders. Holy cow stressful. Note to self, procrastination is always bad.
Thursday was transfers. My new companion is Sister Taylor and she is awesome! She's been out for 2 transfers so far, just out of training. She's from Arizona and absolutely loves stickers,she puts them on everything haha. She's fun and it's going to be a blast. Before heading off we had to figure out how to fit all the luggage into our car...It was my stuff, as well as another Sisters stuff and wow there was a lot. (I tried to downsize I promise, I had less!!) Anyway, we all crammed into the car with stuff everywhere and headed off to Star Valley. It still didn't really feel like I was being transferred there, but sometimes I'm slow.
We got into the valley and dropped the other sisters off, then headed to our house. Part of me was incredibly sick of packing/unpacking, and the other part of me was incredibly excited now that we were actually in Afton, so we went to visit some people! On our way we decided to stop by the post office, and wow miracles do occur. As we walked in, a man was walking out and it just happened to be someone who came immediately to mind when I was told I'd be coming back to this area. I chatted with him a bit and we planned to meet with them later that week.
We went to his family's home on Sunday and had a powerful lesson with them. When I was around last year we were working with them to get them to the temple. I followed up on those goals they had talked about and from there, we testified of repenting now, and not procrastinating such wonderful blessings. I was able to testify that I knew it wasn't a coincidence I was sent back to the valley and that they were among the first to come to mind. He and his wife both recognized the truth of what we discussed and we challenged them to set a date to go to the temple, for them to work towards and visualize. He saw the importance of doing something about the goals his family has and agreed that they would discuss a date.
The last 5 days have been such a blessing to me. I feel like Heavenly Father has shown me again how much each of us matter to him. Sister Taylor and I are hitting it off well with each other and it is so sweet being back in Star Valley. I absolutely love the people here and I am so happy to get to work with so many again. There were more that we got to see, but I just don't have room or time to share! I can testify that Heavenly Father is aware of every detail in our lives. He loves us and is quietly showing his hand in our lives, it is up to us to see it. He sent his son to this earth to walk our hard paths and overcome them. Whats even more amazing, Christ is there to walk them with us again, offering his hand to guide us.
I love this gospel and I hope you all take the time to notice the blessings in your lives!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Holy cow folks, I am back! I'm already getting ahead of myself, I'm too excited.
Monday and Tuesday were full of last time visits with Sister Miller. It was bittersweet, especially recognizing that I would be leaving too. There are so many wonderful people in Chubbuck, and I was sad to leave. Once we dropped Sister Miller off to the mission home, the day became a mess of packing and preparing the area for the Elders. Holy cow stressful. Note to self, procrastination is always bad.
Thursday was transfers. My new companion is Sister Taylor and she is awesome! She's been out for 2 transfers so far, just out of training. She's from Arizona and absolutely loves stickers,she puts them on everything haha. She's fun and it's going to be a blast. Before heading off we had to figure out how to fit all the luggage into our car...It was my stuff, as well as another Sisters stuff and wow there was a lot. (I tried to downsize I promise, I had less!!) Anyway, we all crammed into the car with stuff everywhere and headed off to Star Valley. It still didn't really feel like I was being transferred there, but sometimes I'm slow.
We got into the valley and dropped the other sisters off, then headed to our house. Part of me was incredibly sick of packing/unpacking, and the other part of me was incredibly excited now that we were actually in Afton, so we went to visit some people! On our way we decided to stop by the post office, and wow miracles do occur. As we walked in, a man was walking out and it just happened to be someone who came immediately to mind when I was told I'd be coming back to this area. I chatted with him a bit and we planned to meet with them later that week.
We went to his family's home on Sunday and had a powerful lesson with them. When I was around last year we were working with them to get them to the temple. I followed up on those goals they had talked about and from there, we testified of repenting now, and not procrastinating such wonderful blessings. I was able to testify that I knew it wasn't a coincidence I was sent back to the valley and that they were among the first to come to mind. He and his wife both recognized the truth of what we discussed and we challenged them to set a date to go to the temple, for them to work towards and visualize. He saw the importance of doing something about the goals his family has and agreed that they would discuss a date.
The last 5 days have been such a blessing to me. I feel like Heavenly Father has shown me again how much each of us matter to him. Sister Taylor and I are hitting it off well with each other and it is so sweet being back in Star Valley. I absolutely love the people here and I am so happy to get to work with so many again. There were more that we got to see, but I just don't have room or time to share! I can testify that Heavenly Father is aware of every detail in our lives. He loves us and is quietly showing his hand in our lives, it is up to us to see it. He sent his son to this earth to walk our hard paths and overcome them. Whats even more amazing, Christ is there to walk them with us again, offering his hand to guide us.
I love this gospel and I hope you all take the time to notice the blessings in your lives!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Monday, January 28, 2019
Returning to The Promised Land
Hello everybody!!!
This week has flown by way too fast! Spoiler alert though- we got transfer calls!! I have to share now because I am way to happy about this to wait untill the end. Usually, we get transfer calls the Saturday before transfer day. (The next transfer is this Thursday fyi) Well, President called Sister Miller and I on Thursday to talk to me about transfers. Originally, he had me down to train a new sister in Chubbuck. By Tuesday, he had me in Chubbuck with a different sister joining me, who has been out a short while already. Well on Thursday he told me he had to close some sister areas and wanted to know how ours would look if he put elders back in Chubbuck. As we were discussing the people in our area and how some of them would do with Elders, he suddenly asks "Do you feel you have any unfinished business in Thayne?" To which I responded, "Thayne? Wait, Star Valley?!" I literally started crying, I was so happy to think about going back. He said thats where I was sitting on the transfer board at the moment and by the end of the call it seemed pretty set that I would stay. The next 2 days were agony though, waiting to hear the set transfer calls. He could always change his mind, and I really didn't want him too on this one haha. It's official now. I will be heading back to Star Valley this Thursday.. So to those of you on my email from SV... See you soon!!! 😄
This week has been a rush of mission lasts for Sister Miller. We got to see lots of people we've been working with and it started to become a little more real to her I think. We taught Taleysa on Monday and it was a great lesson! She's been hard to meet with since I got into the area. The last thing we heard actually was that she didn't even believe in God anymore. She's 14, so we felt like that might not be a solid belief and we'd try anyway. Well the whole lesson we discussed how she's seen God's hand in her life and how she's felt the spirit. So it was an awesome lesson and hopefully she commits more in the future.
On Tuesday we went with Gabriel to the temple! (He's the guy I taught from YSA that got baptized recently.) It was so neat to be in the temple with him. He even performed some baptisms! I really wasn't sure I'd see him baptized while still on my mission, and there we were in the temple with him! It was such a wonderful experience (:
Wednesday evening we joined the elders to go to a ward ski night. (they said lots of people will stay in the lodge and talk) Anyway the elders drove and we almost got lost on the snowy back roads on Inkom, but we made it and stayed on the road. We also met some people that weren't members of the church... But they kinda ditched us after a bit. It was actually pretty funny to see their attempt to evade us. Oh well!
We met with Ashley and her husband, they are still hoping February will work out for their temple date. My fingers are crossed, too bad they won't be getting sealed in the Star Valley temple.
We also got to meet with Lyric and his family. Hes 11 and his biological mom won't let him be baptized till he turns 12, so we're teaching him in the meantime. He and his brother Mason are my favorite kids to teach holy cow. They spent the first half hour telling us random but hilarious stories and after the lesson we played a version of uno called "fart". Definitely little boys. But they are the best haha 😂 😂 😂 I'm going to miss them so much!!
Chubbuck has been real for sure. I've learned a lot from this area and I will miss so many people from here. I know the atonement is real, I've seen it work in my own life as well as others. It's been wonderful to see people start to accept Christ into their life and I am excited to see what Star Valley looks like when I return. I love you all, have a great week!!
Love ya,
Sister Jensen
This week has flown by way too fast! Spoiler alert though- we got transfer calls!! I have to share now because I am way to happy about this to wait untill the end. Usually, we get transfer calls the Saturday before transfer day. (The next transfer is this Thursday fyi) Well, President called Sister Miller and I on Thursday to talk to me about transfers. Originally, he had me down to train a new sister in Chubbuck. By Tuesday, he had me in Chubbuck with a different sister joining me, who has been out a short while already. Well on Thursday he told me he had to close some sister areas and wanted to know how ours would look if he put elders back in Chubbuck. As we were discussing the people in our area and how some of them would do with Elders, he suddenly asks "Do you feel you have any unfinished business in Thayne?" To which I responded, "Thayne? Wait, Star Valley?!" I literally started crying, I was so happy to think about going back. He said thats where I was sitting on the transfer board at the moment and by the end of the call it seemed pretty set that I would stay. The next 2 days were agony though, waiting to hear the set transfer calls. He could always change his mind, and I really didn't want him too on this one haha. It's official now. I will be heading back to Star Valley this Thursday.. So to those of you on my email from SV... See you soon!!! 😄
This week has been a rush of mission lasts for Sister Miller. We got to see lots of people we've been working with and it started to become a little more real to her I think. We taught Taleysa on Monday and it was a great lesson! She's been hard to meet with since I got into the area. The last thing we heard actually was that she didn't even believe in God anymore. She's 14, so we felt like that might not be a solid belief and we'd try anyway. Well the whole lesson we discussed how she's seen God's hand in her life and how she's felt the spirit. So it was an awesome lesson and hopefully she commits more in the future.
On Tuesday we went with Gabriel to the temple! (He's the guy I taught from YSA that got baptized recently.) It was so neat to be in the temple with him. He even performed some baptisms! I really wasn't sure I'd see him baptized while still on my mission, and there we were in the temple with him! It was such a wonderful experience (:
Wednesday evening we joined the elders to go to a ward ski night. (they said lots of people will stay in the lodge and talk) Anyway the elders drove and we almost got lost on the snowy back roads on Inkom, but we made it and stayed on the road. We also met some people that weren't members of the church... But they kinda ditched us after a bit. It was actually pretty funny to see their attempt to evade us. Oh well!
We met with Ashley and her husband, they are still hoping February will work out for their temple date. My fingers are crossed, too bad they won't be getting sealed in the Star Valley temple.
We also got to meet with Lyric and his family. Hes 11 and his biological mom won't let him be baptized till he turns 12, so we're teaching him in the meantime. He and his brother Mason are my favorite kids to teach holy cow. They spent the first half hour telling us random but hilarious stories and after the lesson we played a version of uno called "fart". Definitely little boys. But they are the best haha 😂 😂 😂 I'm going to miss them so much!!
Chubbuck has been real for sure. I've learned a lot from this area and I will miss so many people from here. I know the atonement is real, I've seen it work in my own life as well as others. It's been wonderful to see people start to accept Christ into their life and I am excited to see what Star Valley looks like when I return. I love you all, have a great week!!
Love ya,
Sister Jensen
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