Family Pictures!

Hello!!

My week- it wasn't too eventful, but a few things happened! We had Zone conference on Tuesday which was pretty fun(: The messages were all centered on Charity, which is something I've been think about a lot anyways, so I really enjoyed it. I feel like we run into all sorts of people out here and it's really easy to look at someone and start to make a judgement. I enjoyed the reminder to look past our snap judgement, and understanding more about charity. There was also a talent show that I participated in, I sang "away in a manger" and played my uke. I took a video at home so I'll send that today.

That evening we got to go to a Christmas party and sang with the Young Women at an assisted living home. We sang a song that the yw have been practicing, and then did come more Christmas carols that the ladies requested. It was a fun night, and I enjoyed getting to do some caroling this year. Hopefully we'll get more caroling in before Christmas, I feel like I haven't gotten my fill in.

We got to go on exchanges this Friday, which meant I DROVE IN THE SNOW! Sister Thomas joined Sister Zeigler in Afton and Sister Loring joined me in Grover. Which meant, I drove the car. I've missed driving. And I did pretty good on the snow, Sister Loring only screamed twice. (jk we were fine, im fine) It was a good time, Sister Loring is a new STL, and new to Star Valley so she was fun to get to meet. We took a family portrait while we were together, modeled after a photo we found at the Reinharts. (i'll include it)

Last highlight, Sister Thomas and I gave talks this Sunday. I was pretty calm going into it, We were given a pretty comfortable subject. Bishop asked us to talk about ourselves, our families, our decision to serve, and missionary work. So I felt pretty comfy. Then, when I was siting on the stand, I started panicking because it felt like i wasn't tying my decision to serve into missionary work very well. And/or there were just sudden nerves in general. Well I got up, talked a bit about my family, shared who's been on missions and then talked about my decision to serve. I was actually quite glad to get to share this, because I feel like most people look at missionaries and just assume they're perfect and that we're basically raised to serve, but that's not the case. I feel like people especially thought this of me when I shared that my mom and dad both served, and then that my older sister served. It was nice to get to explain how I really made this decision for myself, and whats more, that I originally decided not to go, but later realized I was letting my fears control me. After explaining that, the Spirit kicked in and took me on a different course than I had planned, but I was grateful for it. I talked about how many of us, like myself, let our fears keep us from doing missionary work, and how we need to set those aside and share the knowledge we have. I felt like I connected with a lot of people, and like I had followed the spirit so it felt good.

I hope you all have a good week and look for ways to share the gospel(:

I love you!!
Sister Jensen

Christmas for dayssss

Hello all!

My week... So on Tuesday Sister Thomas and I were asked to come over and do service for an older lady in the world....and do some Christmas decorating! Not sure if it really counted as service, but she really appreciated it. She can't stand very long without getting exhausted, so we put up her tree for her and set out her nativities. Surprisingly, fake trees are very common here. Because it's so cold and dry, they tend to die super fast so a lot of people do fake trees. Makes me sad because the smell of pine really makes it feel like Christmas, but this isn't my first year without a real Christmas tree. (nor would we have a place to put one) We helped her get her house ready for Christmas though, for which she was really thankful. We were also able to do something with the single banana bread that made it safely out of the oven. An older lady in the ward recently passed away, and we had stopped by to see how her husband was doing. We offered to bake him cookies, but he got a ton of cookies lately, so i suggested bread instead. He was super excited. I felt a little sheepish stopping by with just one small loaf, (i had planned to give him 2 at least), but when he saw us and i offered it to him he was so happy and excited. He's a sweet man, and we're hoping he follows his wife's request and comes back to church. (she had health issues so they couldn't attend, he'd stay home to care for her)

The next day we were so many places. We had a list of like 20 people that we needed to hand invitations to for Christmas parties, and holy cow we got them all out. More than half the people weren't home, so that was a little sad, but it felt productive because we were stopping by so many places. Half of the invitations were for a relief society party that was happening the next night, so we just left those ones by the door. We got to talk with a few people, and then had a lesson with the Kenningtons later that night. They're warming up to us more, and the dad was actually home and participating this time so that was good. We went over the first part of the plan of salvation, and it just felt like a good lesson.

Transfers happened this week, and as expected, Sister Thomas and I stayed put. We got a new Elder in our district, which was cool. He wasn't super talkative, but then again, not many of the elders seem to know how to act around sisters so he'll adjust. Lets see...not a ton of excitement in my week. Tomorrow we have Zone conference, and there will be a talent show. I signed up to do something, but forgot to record myself doing it so you'll all have to wait till next week to see what I did.

I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Raw Eggs and Wreaths

Hello all!

It is crazy to think Thanksgiving was just last week! It seems like so long ago alreadyx) My week has been good! It's seemed to go by really quick, it felt like we had half the week scheduled by Monday night. To start, on Monday evening we taught the Titenser family again, and I'm just really excited about them. They're such a sweet family, and Brandon, the dad, seems to have a very sincere desire to come back to church. The boys have warmed up to us, and I really look forward to their lessons. They all seem to be excited about the gospel again, and it's so sweet to see.

On Sunday, we got a new ward mission leader! This was a little bittersweet, as Brother Porter is a great ward mission leader and such a sweet man. We had our first meeting with Brother Call on Tuesday, and he seems excited and ready to delve back into missionary work! On Wednesday, Sister Thomas and I made wreaths!! Oh my word, I had so much fun!! The lady we met last week, Andy, invited us to come to her annual wreath making party. Every year she makes 20+ wreaths and invites people to come and make their own. This all started back when she was young. She and her dad would go out into the woods around November and make wreath after wreath from the branches they found or could cut. Then when she was going through college, she would make 300 wreaths each Christmas to pay for her tuition. Now she does it for fun, because Christmas wouldn't be the same without wreath making. It was such a fun activity! I'll include pictures, but Sister Thomas and I both did a pretty good job for the first time!

That night, we had our first successful Book of Mormon class for the Grover ward! At first it was just Sister Thomas and I and two wonderful ward members, but then a truck speeds into the church parking lot and in comes TINA!! She is a less active member who we have been trying and trying with. She knows the gospel is true, but can't seem to bring herself to do much of the commitments we leave. But she came to our Book of Mormon class!!! We had stopped by her house earlier that day, and she basically told us a very wishy washy maybe when we reminded her about it. So we were shocked when she showed up, and SO HAPPY!!! It was such a great little class.

The highlight of my week was Friday though. Sister Thomas and I, although we loved our wreaths, decided to give them away. We gave one to Tina, who really appreciated it, and one to a lady named Shelly, who works at the Grover Post office. Earlier in the week, Shelly had opened up to us, and told us about some struggles her family has faced that makes Christmas time really hard for her. We decided to give our other wreath to her and wow. Heavenly Father knows each of us so well and loves us so much. We gave her the wreath and she cried. She told us that she had an absolutely awful day. She was really touched and it was such a sweet moment to have with her.

Also this weekend, we had stake conference. Adam and Emily (my aunt and uncle) spoke at the adult evening session, and they talked about raising your kids in righteousness. They did a really good job, and I loved what they had to say. They outlined some of the ways they have tried to teach and protect their kids with the guidance of the prophet and apostles. I think it's wonderful to have a temple so close, and they definitely help their kids understand the importance of the temple. While they were speaking, I was thinking most about those that we've met that don't have the gospel in their homes. The gospel can bring much needed guidance to parents. I feel like the most important and fundamental truth the gospel can instill in a child though, is their divine worth. I feel like so many children would have had much better lives if they had just been taught that they are a divine son or daughter of God. That knowledge alone could protect them from damaging insecurities and help them keep higher standards for themselves, that could keep them out of trouble later on.

Sister Thomas and I were also in awe as the stake president spoke, because he included the two stories from the Bible and Book of Mormon that we had just gone over in companion study. He talked about the parable of the good Samaritan, and then they story of Moroni and Pahoran in the Book of Mormon. The good Samaritan teaches us to love everyone, regardless of class or race. The story of Moroni and Pahoran teaches us not to take offense and focus on the bigger picture. President Daniels admonished us all to more actively love EVERYONE and be careful not to take offense, but continue to love as the Savior would. It was an amazing talk and a great message.

On a side note, Sister Thomas and I ate at a members house last night, and they both seem to take pleasure in making missionaries squirm. They fed us a Japanese dish, which altogether wasn't that bad at all. If you took away the tofu, and raw egg, i might actually say I liked it. Would eat it again even. But yes, to begin we cracked a raw egg into a bowl (each of us) and proceeded to dip everything in this raw egg. I'm not sure what flavor it was meant to add other than slime...not a fan. I apologize to those who enjoy this sort of dish, but it was not my fav.

It was a good week though and I hope everyone has begun the light the world challenge that the church has put out! If you haven't go onto mormon.org and you'll find a calendar of service ideas, and videos for each day. It's a simple way to focus on whats really important this time of year, and spread love to those around us. Have a great week!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

How to wear a turtleneck 101

Hello hello!

My week has been really good!! Staying at the Schwabs was nice, they have a BEAUTIFUL and HUGE house and they were out of town so we had it all to ourselves which was fun for the most part. We did miss the Reinharts after a while. Sister Thomas and I made 2 pies and a tart for the Reinharts thanksgiving feast. (it was a service for sister Reinhart...a pretty fun one too(; ) We made an apple pie, a chocolate tart and a pecan pie. And I gotta say, Sister Thomas and I are bomb cooks. The apple pie was fantastic and gone pretty quick, the chocolate tart was beautiful and fought over, and the pecan pie...well that one tasted fantastic but looked pretty pathetic. It got eaten when we brought it to the Reinharts...after Thanksgiving because we didn't want anyone to judge our sad little piex) It tasted great though, I'll be keeping those recipes to take home.

Thanksgiving day was a fun one, we ate at like 3 places.The members all were fantastic and loved having us over. We had Thanksgiving on Friday too, we ate with the Lemon family and holy cow. Their turkey was like 35 pounds I kid you not. Sister Thomas took a picture of me by it, I'll send that at some point. This thing was massive. They raise wild turkey's and this one just liked to linger around the feed bin and they let it keep going because Sister Lemon wanted a big turkey this year. She's a really good cook so our after Thanksgiving feast was great.

This week has been so great though. I'm going to be honest, I was feeling super lame the first few days because while helping Sister Reinhart is fun, and very appreciated by her, we also ended up being in the house a lot the first few days and I was feeling a little like "ugh...we aren't getting to visit anyone!!!" But by Sunday we were setting up so many appointments with people, that we actually ran into some scheduling conflicts!! That's crazy! AND!! Oh my word, AND! These two girls who have been coming with the Grover Young Women want to be baptized! Like yesterday! Like we haven't even met with them yet, but they've told the yw leader that they want to be baptized! We'll meet with them this week, if all goes well, but MIRACLES!! We had set a goal for 2 baptisms in the month of December, and the Lord is putting the people ready right in our path. It's been so great!

On Saturday we moved back into the Reinharts, which was a relief. I love the Schwabs, they're awesome, but it's also not super fun to be living out of a suitcase and have to adjust to a different, but temporary living space. Their house was also getting a tad bit creepy tbh, they have like 10 rooms and the first morning we both thought we heard someone int he house. We looked through the whole house and I don't know what I wanted to happen, no one to be there so we wouldn't have any problems, or someone to be there so we wouldn't have to deal with phantom noises the whole time we were there. No one was there, and we're pretty sure most of the noise was from their 2 indoor cats. Side note, I will never have cats. Ever. End of side note.

On Sunday, I tried out one of the turtlenecks grandma sent me...thus the subject line. It wasn't terrible. I expected it to look sorta a little awful because thats the reputation turtlenecks have, but Sister Thomas said it didn't look "too bad". She let me go to church in it, so I'm assuming she was being truthful. I didn't take any pictures of me in it thought because I don't feel like i've completely mastered the turtleneck yet, those will come later, I'm determined to rock this. We had a very eventful Sunday, we had ward council for all three wards, which makes for a very long church block. We actually had to skip ward council for the middle ward though, because we were doing sharing time for the first ward! Junior primary was a little rough because the kids were all pretty quiet and shy, but senior was totally into it. We talked about what a missionary needs to be a missionary (a testimony!) and how they could start being missionaries now. We put a bag together of a bunch of things a missionary has (shoes, tag, watch, etc) and had the kids pull each item out and say why a missionary needs it. They all seemed to enjoy that part. They were all super cute and fun to teach. It's definitely different to teach kids, but pretty fun.

Those are the main highlights from my week, it's been a good one. I hit my 2 month mark today so that was kinda weird to realize. It seems like I still have forever to go when I look forward, but the time seems to have gone by really fast when I look back. It's an odd feeling. Also, I fell behind on my journal again. So no gold star for me this week. (partially due to the fact that I have my uke now and have been playing that the past two nights) It's been a good week though, we'll be starting the light the world challenge in a few days, you should all print out a calendar and do it!! It's on mormon.org!

I love you and miss you all!! <3

Love,
Sister Jensen<3

Happy Turkey Day!!

Hola!!

So, we just got back from being in the temple! We switched our pday to today so that we could attend the temple(: The temple is closed on Mondays, so we have to switch p-days to go. Being in the temple was wonderful, It was really nice to get to feel that peace inside again and see the paintings around. The temple is quite small compared to even the Provo temple, but it has some beautiful stained glass windows that I thought were really nice. While we were in the session, I just got to thinking about the crucifixion of Christ. It's always hit me just how much pain alone he suffered by being nailed to the cross. And then to think of the pain and anguish he felt in the Garden of Gethsemane too. It just hurts me to think of what torment he went through, and then to think that he was willing to go through it- because he loves us. I kinda got a bit teary because it just hit me again, but it just speaks volumes of how much Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father really do love us.

Some other highlights from my week-

We had dinner with a ton of elderly sisters on Tuesday, and it was my favorite dinner yet. The widowed elderly women will get together to feed the missionaries or have family home evening and they are the best. They told us all about the 50's and dances and Christmas parties and they were so cute and fun. Made me a little mad I wasn't born in the 50's but i don't have control over that and swing dance is still around so i can't be too jealous.

On Wednesday we got to visit with one of our potential investigators again and MIRACLES!! He was super happy to see us, talked a bit, went and put on shoes so his feet wouldn't freeze and then talked some more. Then, THEN. Prepare yourselves. He let us share a message. !!!!! This is huge. I shared a scripture I came across in my personal study and related it back to myself (1 Nephi 9:5-6, I'm not exactly sure why i'm out here and/or I don't really know who I'm supposed to meet and talk to out here on my mission, but the lord told me to come, and so here i am.) AND HE LOVED IT!!!! He said it was so beautiful, just the verse itself, and how i connected it to myself and we talked a bit about the feelings we get in church and then we had to go, but he said to bring someone next time so we can go inside and sit down! SUCH A MIRACLE!! Love that guy. (This was the guy that hated us at first)

On Sunday, we went to the Meridian Temple dedication and that was pretty cool. Let me specify, we actually went to Montpelier to watch the temple dedication. Sister Elliot drove us there, and she's fantastic. One of the sweetest ladies, she's basically adopted us. But the temple dedication was really neat. We tried to go to the Face to Face that night, but were unable to find it. So instead we had the delightful opportunity to come face to face with everyone who hates us. That was fun. We tried visiting people instead, but nobody really like us that nightx) Oh well, not the first time, or the last.

Then yesterday...what a weirdly fantastic day. So yesterday would normally be our p-day, but as I said, we switched it to today so we could go through the temple. Well yesterday still sorta felt like a pday because to start we helped sister reinhart clean her house. We usually begin by cleaning our apartment so that felt a little odd. While we were doing that our 1pm lesson cancelled. Then our 11pm lesson wasn't responding to us.. so we had a bit of an unoptimistic attitude..but went and knocked anyways...yeah she wasn't home. So then we went and did our studies, (which, i guess you don't do on pday, but we were still inside so it felt like a pday kinda day still.) then we went and tried to do some service, but the sister we tried to serve had already picked up all the tree limbs that we came to help her with...and then everyone else we visited (IN SERVICE CLOTHES!!!) wouldn't accept, or didn't need our help. The Schwab family (love, them, they've basically adopted us too) insisted on paying for our dinner that night so we ate at a super great mexican place, which still felt pday ish because it was just Sister Thomas and I. BUT THEN! We had a lesson appointment!!!!

We went and taught a family and it was great! Sister Thomas and I both had moments where we almost cried a bit tbh. The parents are both less active, and they have 3 boys. An 8 yr old, a 7 yr old, and a 2 yr old. They want to become active again, and the parents have talked about working toward the temple. Our first lesson with them, Sister Thomas and I both walked away feeling sorta terrible because we totally underestimated how little they knew about the gospel and went way over their heads. Well this lesson, to start, the 7yr old, shows us his Thanksgiving list for school and he had listed us, the missionaries on it! I about cried there. Somebody appreciates usx) We had a really simple lesson about who Heavenly Father is and who Jesus Christ is. We talked about the atonement a bit, and it was just such a good lesson! The dad told us about a few experiences he had, and the boys were really into the lesson and what we had to say. Such a good note to end our day on(:

So that was my week! I also finally got caught up on my journal, for which I should really receive an award because I was like a week and a half behind so go me! Anyways, I love and miss you all, have a good week!!<3

Love,
Sister Jensen

Love & Gratitude

Hello hello!!

So lets see, last P-day was soooo super chill and fantastic! Sister Thomas and I decided to be the lame sisters who didn't make time to get to any possible zone activity, and it was GREAT. Don't get me wrong, I love our zone, but trying to make time for a big activity in the middle of the day makes our p-days more hectic so we decided to forgo this one. It was fine though because when we saw everyone at the family history center, everyone said they were too busy for a zone activity anyways. So we weren't really that lame. Such a nice relaxed p-day though. (Brother Reinhart even made us waffles!!)

We got to have interviews with President this week, which meant a little q&a time with Sister Hancock too. She's my favoritexD Sister Thomas went in with president first so I got to chat with Sister Hancock for a bit and after she got through her initial "get to know you questions" we talked for the rest of the time about face paintingx) She was asking me for any tips and what sort of paints to use and what to look for in brushes...it was great! She wants to get into face painting after they're back from the mission. (made me miss my paints a bit...but we're going to go paint with a member later today so i think i'll make it.)

My interview with President was good too, he asked how I was doing out here in Star Valley and how Sister Thomas and I are getting along. At first I thought it was going to be a pretty short interview if those were his only questions, because I'm doing great still and Sister Thomas and I are fantastic together. We talked about some other things though, namely things I've learned so far from being out and we discussed favorite scripture of mine. To me, these verses illustrate God's love and power. Look them up, they're 2 Nephi 8:15-16. I love how those verse illustrate God's power, and yet he has taken the time to cover us in the shadow of his hand, to "plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth" for us. We are God's masterpieces. Compared to everything else he has made on this earth, his purpose and great work is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). We are his greatest creation and he loves us and wants us to return to him someday so he can bless us even more than he already has.

President and I also discussed how knowledge of God's love has helped as we've encountered trials. For me, I know I can face anything thrown my way because I have a loving Father in Heaven who is watching over me and waiting to help me through the hard times I have. Life would be meaningless if not for God. If there was no God, what would be the point of this life? I feel like this life would be dreary and bleak without the knowledge of our God. Trials would be unbearable and pointless, and I could see many easily sinking into depression. That is why the gospel is such a joyful message- because it tells us what the point of this life is, and who we are striving to return too.

I also had the opportunity this week to speak in one of the wards we cover. I spoke about Gratitude and pulled a lot of my talk from Henry B Eyring's "Remembrance and Gratitude" 1989 General Conference address. I focused on what President Eyring pointed out as the center of gratitude- Remembrance. So often we are quick to forget what we have been blessed with, what we didn't have before, and who has given us these blessings. Read his talk before Thanksgiving. His words really open your eyes to everything we have. It also made me think about how many times in the Book of Mormon a verse will admonish us to "remember". Although I'm not through marking my scriptures with Preach my Gospel, I want to eventually underline each time we're told to "remember" in the Book of Mormon. I think it would be a good exercise and I encourage you all to as well.

Thank you all for your love and support, I hope you each have a fantastic week!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Greetings from the North Pole! Hah, don't get mad, I'm not trying to skip Thanksgiving, but the weather is sorta giving me no choice...

But lets back up quick, Halloween! So for Halloween, Sister Thomas and I had a ton of lessons planned before we had to be locked up in a church for the remainder of the night. Our lessons all went fantastic by the way! One of our less actives is taking it upon herself to stop smoking!!! It was actually so cool, we just went over to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with her and by the end she was so happy and understood the chapter so much better and out of the blue, she just told us, "girls, i talked with my doctor and he's prescribing me this medication to help me quit smoking, and I'll be done by December 1st!" It was so awesome!!

Anyways, so after our lessons, we headed to the church building at 6pm. Why do missionaries have to be locked up in the church on Halloween night? Because in bigger cities people have the bright idea to dress up like missionaries and vandalize or wreck havoc. So it's easier on President if he can respond to and complaints and say "Nope, not my missionaries, they were all in the church by 6" So that's what we did. There are 6 sets of missionaries in Star Valley, and we all congregated in the Thayne stake center. Honestly, Sister Thomas and I thought it was going to be super boring because we were just going to sit in the church building for three hours.. but we played games and it was actually pretty fun(:

Lets see, Wednesday, nobody loved us. We planned to visit a ton of people but either no one was home, or no one wanted anything to do with us. One lady answered the door and after us asking "How are you?" She responded "I'm good, and not buying, bye girls". It was a fun time. We did end up having a lesson that day, so that was actually pretty good. We finished the plan of salvation with a less active and had a really deep discussion with her about God's love for all of us, and how he loves us each unconditionally. Some good scriptures- 2 Nephi 1:15, 1 John 4:7-8, 9-11(the Book of Mormon in general because God loves us enough to give us further direction in our lives)

Thursday, Sister Thomas was feeling awful so that wasn't super fun, but on Friday we had Zone Conference! Zone Conference was held in the Paris Tabernacle, which was beautiful! (I'll add pics) The Paris Tabernacle is quite old, and only has wooden benches so President had us bring pillows or blankets to sit on, or as the ZL's (zone leaders) stated, "bring butt pads so you don't get wood... in your butts.." We have very articulate elders. It was great to hear advice and encouragement from president though, as well as hear more about the "Light the World" initiative the church will be putting on again this year. After Zone Conference Sister Thomas and I went on exchanges with the STL's (sister training leaders) and I stayed in the Paris area with Sister Smith! Okay I lied, we actually headed out to Bear Lake, and were in Laketown and Garden City.

Bear Lake was beautiful, and it was funny to be back there again after being there a summer or two ago for the Barlow family reunion. We drove by Pickleville Playhouse and made sure to get shakes on our way out. I didn't spot the house we stayed at when my family was there, but when I described it to Sister Smith, she was pretty sure she knew where it was. It was great to be out with Sister Smith though, she was super sweet and fun. Since we went on exchanges midday, we didn't switch back till Saturday at about 4. So Friday night we went to a few lessons and then Saturday we tried to visit people, but no one was home. Sister Smith said most people got to Logan on the weekend to do their grocery shopping so it was hard to catch people. But during one of our visits on Friday the couple we met with taught us a card game called Thirteen, and I had the best score by the end. Bear Lake was fun and even though it was overcast, the water was still almost turquoise. I took some pictures that I'll send out, it was actually cloudy enough that you couldn't see some of the surrounding mountains so it looked more like a bay on the Oregon coast(:

As we came back into Montpelier the snow slowly creeped in.. Seriously, it was pretty funny, we saw the snow slowly get deeped and more heavy as we got closer to Montpelier. It was pretty funny and I was pretty sure there'd be snow back in Afton. Which there was. I'll include pictures, but it definitely looks like a winter wonderland. I don't think it'll be going away anytime soon. That's all for this week, I love you all!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Haven't died in a snowdrift yet...

Hello hello!!

My week! This is probably terribly out of order, but fortunately for me, you won't have any idea(; To start, Sister Thomas and I went to our Book of Mormon class again and read through 2 Nephi 10-11. Somewhere along the way, one of our less active members asked about what happens to those who don't accept Christ, but are good people. And suddenly I was at the chalkboard drawing out the plan of salvation while Sister Thomas was explaining it. It felt like a random turn of subjects, but it was great! Honestly, even if the lesson goes completely off from what we went in trying to teach, if the spirit is still there, it's totally okay. In fact, it's usually the spirit that tells you to go completely off course. It was great though, I could tell the ladies went away with more understanding and peace.

Before our dinner with the Isaacsons, Sister Thomas and I decided to tract around a little bit and knocked on the door of an older man named Jim. Holy cow was he a character. He was the first door we knocked and he answered totally upset with us for even daring to trespass his doorstep. He started "Girls, I can already tell ya you made a mistake by bein here.." At first he was pretty mad at us, telling us how he asked the church not to send us by and how he wants to be taken off whatever list we have. (we apologized, telling him we honestly had no idea and that he was just the first door we knocked) But 45 minutes later, he had walked us around back to show us the pheasants he raises, told us his whole life story, and even cried at one point. Looking back on it, we hardly said a word, but he ended up inviting us back. He said over and over "girls, you can't convert me" when we would begin to testify, but the spirit was working on him somehow, so we'll see where things go with him.

After meeting Jim we talked to another lady who seemed lowkey a little crazy, and totally uninterested, so we headed to the Isaacson's for dinner. Oh my heck was that weird. But I loved itx) I hardly remembered what their house looked like so I was no help to Sister Thomas in trying to find it. It was great to see them again! For Sister Thomas it was like another member family dinner where she didn't really know them super well, but she knew it was kinda odd for me. It's weird to have them here, but fun. Missionary life is weird but fun. Sister Thomas and I have determined that missionary life is just awkward in general.

We got to go to a football game this week! Terrible game, because Jantzen&Adalee's school totally shut the other team out(; I think the final score was 60(ish) to 0 if that tells you anything.. so they did great, but the other team probably had a rough ride home. Sister Thomas and I took it as an opportunity to hand out invites to the Hoe Down our stake had! It was kinda awkward walking around a football game as a missionary, but we kinda just went for it and left after handing out almost all of our invites. We had to head to our dinner appointment.. which was at a member's house...a member who is the mother of EIGHT children. O.o Oh my heck was it a madhouse. Super fun, crazy dinner though, and I now have an even higher respect for the time Grandma B spent raising my mom and her (9) siblings.

That brings me too...the Hoe Down! The whole "Hoe Down" had the following outline- we'd start with a talent hour, just a few acts from the wards. Then line dance instruction, and a church tour for non members who attended. Food would be served throughout. We had a lot of good musical talent, Jantzen being one of them, playing an arrangement of "If You Could Hie to Kolob" on piano! He did great, and following the talent hour they did some line dancing, which was pretty fun to watch. We didn't end up doing a church tour, because no nonmembers came out, but it was a fun time still(:

That about sums up my week! I love and miss you all, have a great week!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Banished to Wyoming...

Mi familia!!

Yes. I am here, and I am in WYOMING.

SO. On Tuesday we shipped out! It didn't seem like too long of a bus ride to Pocatello, I honestly didn't pay attention to the time. I was either catching up in my journal, talking, or staring out the window as we came into Idaho. We got to the mission office and they had us pack an overnight bag, then shuffled us upstairs to do some newbie orientation. They had us watch a few videos, meet with President, take a picture, and call home, which was weird for both me and my parents, because it definitely isn't Christmas or Mothers day.

After that I met with President Hancock and his wife, and fun fact, I have family out here in the area I'm covering. No, during my interview I did not specifically mention I had family in Afton, because I didn't think it would be an issue. I honestly never thought I'd get called to Star Valley... President even said something about "one of you will be off to star valley.." and I was like "hah so definitely not me, hope they have boots". Oops.

We had dinner at the mission home, after which the AP's gave another mission presentation and then we found out who our companions would be and what area we would all be heading too. I was towards the end of the sisters and opened my envelope to read "Sister Thomas....been out for 2 months....serving in Thayne 1 WY" Just like with my mission call I immediately laughed because I just knew I had to be nearby Emily&Adam's ward. (I found out later that I actually cover their ward) I ended up with the youngest trainer, she's actually only been out 5 weeks, more like 6 now, but she's awesome. We haven't had any problems and have been on the same page since our first day together so it's been great! Anyways, so we stayed the night at the mission home and then took the transfer train to our various locations.

President and his wife drove us to Star Valley and along the way I finally asked if I was supposed to mention where I am in the mission, or just leave it out because I have family somewhere in Afton. I didn't know what ward to tell him, but he didn't seem concerned. I mean, I guess he couldn't do much because we were on the way to Wyoming at the time. He said to say where i'm serving still because they'll find out, and then go read page 37 of the white handbook. (they found out the day I got there I'm pretty sure) So I mean he knows, and to be fair, Sister Tanner also has family in the mission as do a few other missionaries, so I'm sure I'm not the first case he's had. But yes, we are scheduled to have dinner with the Isaacson's this week so that'l be funx)

We had a training meeting back in Pocatello on Saturday so it felt odd to be going back so soon, but Sister Thomas and I did the 2.5 hour trek back for a 2 hr meeting. It was a good meeting, but it was kinda funny that we were driving longer than we were learning. While in Pocatello President gave us permission, in fact told us to go out to the stores while we can and get what we need before going back to WY. So, I bought boots and a jacket because I was not prepared to go straight into nowhere with a side of cold and a possibility of snow. So it'll be an adventure!

It honestly was an adventure from the get go though, we got to the place we're staying and Sister Thomas goes, "so we kinda got a cricket problem." It wasn't awful, but bad enough that the night before we went to Pocatello we set off bug bombs. Which seemed to fix the problem. Too bad that wasn't all though! Hah, so Sister Thomas showed me a leak in the ceiling of the bathroom that was lookin kinda pretty bad... We're living with members, and our apartment is basically their ground floor. So we called the members again to tell them about it, (they were on vacation in Laramy that weekend) and they sent over some friends to check it out...who told us we gotta turn off the water. So until the Reinharts got back (sunday night) Sister Thomas and I were hopping between their house for our food/clothing, and the Docksteader's for bathroom/showers. It was a fun time.

We've already been out talking to people a bit, we don't have a lot of investigators, we'll be working mostly with less actives. I am kinda thrown for a loop with this, as you don't get a whole lot of training on LAs in the MTC, and how do you talk to someone about the gospel when they've "tried it already"? Thinking about it, it's hard because unless they're looking for a change, we might just come off as rude and like we're out here calling people to repentance.. which I guess we are, but it's just a different approach. It's especially hard because of some of the members! Sister Thomas and I were talking about what to do to find investigators and both agreed we needed the help of the members to really get anywhere. So we made a goal to ask for referrals at each dinner (we get fed a lot!) and even after each lesson or contact we make. Well the second member dinner we go too, we finish the meal and give a spiritual thought...which leads into missionary work...then pull out a Book of Mormon and challenge them to take it and place it. I swear they would have told us no if not for a granddaughter that had served a mission and was there. HOLY COW. It was almost so awkward. But really, some of the members here just aren't really willing to help us out...so that's been interesting.

It's been a good time though, banished to Wyoming, cricket filled apartment, leaky ceiling, foreboding clouds that seem to promise snow soon.... it's been interestingx) No really, I do love it in Star Valley though, it's a beautiful place, the members are really welcoming, and Sister Thomas is seriously awesome(:

I love you all, and I miss you!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Updates from the MTC!

Hello all!

This past week has flown by, we've been so busy. We have new TRC investigators and I'm not ready to say goodbye to them yet because teaching them has been great. Kristina is a very sweet woman, and has absorbed everything we've taught her. Oleksandr is more difficult. He's from Ukraine, and upon meeting him he told us he doesn't believe in God, but that he's open to learning about the gospel. His lessons have been my favorite because they've been so hard. By the end of our first lesson, we asked him if he would commit to pray by the next lesson and he flat out told us no. (In the most polite way possible.) so we asked him to read from the Book of Mormon instead, which he said he would do.

Our last lesson, we planned to talk about the apostasy and restoration so that we could expound upon the importance of the Book of Mormon. Well that's not what we talked about at all. For the first ten minutes or so he was just asking us questions about our missions and about the MTC. When we finally started to go into the lesson he stopped us after a few minutes and apologetically said "girls I've actually got to go in a few minutes to be at another lesson." So I asked if we could each at least share our favorite scripture with him. Sister Freeman shared hers after mine, reciting 1 Nephi 3:7 from memory. After she finished, and ended with "save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them" Oleksandr immediately asked "How? How does he prepare a way?" And from there we went into how to recognize the spirit! It was such a great little mini lesson and by the end he told us that he really admired that we knew and could trust that God was there and that he wanted that for himself. The spirit was definitely there and it was such a great lesson!! Meeting with him has helped my confidence as a missionary grow, and my testimony of the gospel as well.

Backing up to Sunday though, Sister Freeman and I taught relief society and I guess I've been spoiled with my gospel principles class because holy cow it was SILENT. The sisters from my district answered questions and would talk, as well as towards the end the other sisters from our zone were talking more, but other than that, the sisters joining us were no help. I was told it was still a good lesson. We went over 1 Nephi chapter 13, and used that to talk about the apostasy and Restoration. It is such an amazing chapter! As I was reading it I realized I never really understood that chapter but it talks all about the Bible and how the Book of Mormon will come about and my mind was blown and HOW DID I MISS THAT BEFORE?? (it went to caps there but I think it was appropriate)

Another amazing thing- D. Todd Christofferson came and spoke for our Tuesday evening Devotional! (also quick side note, his cousin is our branch president in the MTC...i didn't realize they were actually related till after the devotional and he said something..) Sister Christofferson also spoke, she had a lot to say about charity and keeping faith. Elder Christofferson spoke about the history of the Book of Mormon and reminded us all of what hardship the early saints went through to bring it about. Towards the end of his talk he something that really struck me, "the Book of Mormon is the most powerful written testimony in existence today." It reminded me how important it is to just get your investigators to read, and how as long as they just open the book, the spirit will begin to work within them.

Some fun things this week-

I have realized my addiction to cereal. I find myself craving cereal quite a bit. No not the healthy "life" cereal that Sister Freeman so lovingly suggests. (This is ironic because she drinks coke at breakfast almost every day.) No but I keep craving the normal kinds like frosted flakes, honey nut cheerios, and OH'S. Sadly, the MTC knockoff cereal brands have nothing comparable to Oh's.

The other sisters in my district and I used to play soccer during exercise time, but we have now graduated to foursquare and we get QUITE competitive.

Thats all for this week, I love hearing from you all, take care!<3

Love,
Sister Jensen<3

The Adventure Begins...

Hello all!

I am here and in the Missionary Training Center!! It has been a crazy week! Last Wednesday Breanna Dropped me off at the MTC and I got to officially put on my tag(: They keep us pretty busy, we basically go to class, eat, and go back to class. The food has done a number on my insides but I'm still alive. Sister Freeman is my companion, and she is from Virginia, the Washington DC area. There are two other sets of sisters in my district, three of which are going to the Michigan Lancaster mission, the other will join Sister Freeman and I in Pocatello Idaho. We have five elders in our district, one trio and another set of elders. The lonesome two are joining the other sisters in Lancaster, and the trio will be coming with us to Pocatello.

I had the wonderful blessing of kicking off my time in the MTC with General Conference! It was FANTASTIC! We did have to sit in plastic chairs for much longer than I would wish on anyone, but it was still great. My favorite was Ronald A. Rasband's talk, he spoke all about just how specific and particular all of our lives are. His and Elder Holland's talk hit me right in the heart. God definitely knows what we need and when we need it. I hope you all had a chance to listen to a few talks, and if you didn't, I encourage you to go listen to theirs at least.

I have already gotten to teach investigators though! People come to the MTC to help give missionaries practice teaching lessons, and they wont tell us if they're a member or an actual investigator so you have to treat everyone like the real deal. We get to teach two ladies, Makenna,and Linda. It's been fun teaching them both(: So far we've taught them both twice, our first time being Monday. We'll have our last lesson with them both on Saturday and then switch to new investigators. They're both very sweet and have tons of questions which is great(:

Another fun thing, there's an MTC choir! We have devotionals every Sunday and Tuesday night and there's a brief choir rehearsal before each, and then afterwards we get to sing at some point during the devotional. It's a huge choir because basically half of the MTC shows up to sing, but it's great! This last Tuesday we sang an arrangement of "More Holiness Give Me", in which the sopranos had a fun high part at the end...which definitely sounded awful the first time we tried it but we got it eventually!

It's been a busy week but definitely a fun one. I can testify of the love Heavenly Father has for all of us and have only become firmer in my testimony of the gospel. I know I'm supposed to be out here on a mission and I can't wait to get to Pocatello. I love you all!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Sister Jensen Has Arrived!

Hello!!

Quick update, I am here and safe in the MTC!:D Breanna dropped me off earlier today, she got some pictures so she can share those later, but I'm here! The MTC is huge and beautiful! It was awesome just driving in, Breanna can attest, missionaries were lining the path cars would take to wave and say hello and just welcome us all in general. Definitely exciting and helped knock me back into the missionary mindset. Our preparation day is next Thursday, so I'll send a more in depth email then...but for now I'm alive!! I love you all so much and I'm so excited to be here!

Love,
Sister Jensen